-CHAPTER ONE-
Getting All Set
It was a hot summer Tuesday in London, with a vivid blue sky and a burning sun. Diagon Alley was swarming with people, most of them there to buy the necessary things for the start of the new school year. Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour was crammed with beaming youngsters who were accompanied by their parents. Some of them had big bags and piles next to them, together with puffing and exhausted looking mums and dads.
'Mommy,' said a young wizard with sandy coloured hair and bright blue eyes, sitting behind an ice-cream which was huge in comparison to his height. 'Emma is eating all the blueberry!' He pointed at a hole in the middle of the towering ice-cream, supported by a large cup, which only became bigger as a girl kept spooning out the blueberry flavoured ice cream soda with a little golden shining teaspoon.
'Mommy, look at it!' he said a tad louder as his mother didn't seem to notice, but kept staring into the crowd that was walking by the shop, letting her head rest on her left fist while her other hand played with the silver bordered rim of the sleeve of the dark blue robe she was wearing.
'Oh, you big baby,' the dark haired girl hissed, hitting his head with her spoon. The boy looked at his older sister who already had resumed to spoon out more of the blueberry savour and as it trembled, he bit his lip.
'Mommy! Emma hit me w-'
'Elijah!' the mother said loudly as she abruptly turned her rich colourful eyes on him. Her almost blond hair fell in her face and she gracefully ran her fingers through it in a vain attempt to get it away from blocking her view on the appalled boy. 'How many times have I told you to stop droning?
Emma grinned while bringing a spoon full of blueberry ice cream soda to her mouth.
'But mommy, she-' the ice cream was already dangerously affected and ominously bent over to Elijah only to plaster him milliseconds later.
'Watch it!' Emma yelled as she jumped away.
SPLASH!
The little boy helplessly looked up to his mother, covered by their Forest Fruit ice-cup, with a deep crimson cherry sticking out on top of his head.
'Oh dear.' the mother sighed while shaking her head. She swiftly pulled out her wand and muttered something as she gave it a flick. The ice cream vanished immediately, leaving no trace of what so ever on Elijah's outfit, hair or face.
He smoothened his clothes as he sat straight up and recovered from what had just happened.
'Now look what you've done,' he said to his sister angrily. 'No ice cream anymore for both of us!' He muttered as he folded his arms and sank back into his chair, looking to the ground. Emma took no offence and watched her mother searching the crowd.
'Mum? When's Rose coming?' She asked with her spoon still in her mouth and chewing on it. She was dangling her legs under the table in anticipation.
'I don't know, Emma,' she answered. 'They should've been here already.' Emma saw the concerned look on her face and turned to watch the crowd herself. Elijah was still muttering under his breath.
Minutes passed by as the three of them saw hundreds of people walking past Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. A lot of the young people gazed at the shop licking their lips while wiping off the sweat on their forehead with their sleeves.
Suddenly Emma saw the red headed girl she was waiting for.
'Rose!' she exclaimed and a big smile spread across her face.
Rose, very visible by her flaming red hair, came out of the crowd joined by her mother Belladona, who was pushing both her and another girl Emma knew, forward.
'Artemis!' Emma yelled out.
The two girls rushed over to Emma the second they heard and saw her. They immediately sat down at the table and started to talk while Elijah kept muttering.
'Nemesis,' Belladona said almost breathlessly to Emma's mother. 'How are you?'
'Hi Bella,' Nemesis replied. 'I was a bit concerned there. Thought you'd never show up or that maybe something might've happened.' She couldn't hide the worried nature in her voice.
Belladona grinned at her. 'Always worried, that's how we know our Nem.' She quickly took a chair from another table that had just been emptied by one of the waitresses, as another family already rushed to it. 'You don't mind, do you?' she asked the parents, who only seemed to have two small children.
'No, of course not,' they said panting but cheerful. 'We don't need that fifth chair.'
Belladona sat down next to Nemesis, looking at the children. 'We had to pick up Artemis first. Skye had some urgent business down at the Ministry and she needed someone to look after her.'
'Oh, I see,' Nemesis replied before she took a last large swig from her soda. She watched the cute girl Artemis was and saw a little version of her mother, only with darker hair and brighter blue eyes.
'Something wrong with little Eli?' Belladona asked observing the boy who was now pouting and looking angry at the three raving girls next to him, who started to whisper after realising the glares from Elijah.
'The usual,' Nemesis said loud enough so he could clearly hear it. He looked up at his mother and furiously turned to look the other way.
Nemesis grinned and turned to Belladona, who barely could suppress a titter.
'I really wonder when he's going to act his age. Anyway, want a drink, Bella?'
'No, thank you. We'd better get going. It's very crowded and I haven't bought Rose anything yet.'
'Same here.' Nemesis now swivelled to the children. 'Well, are you all ready to go shopping then?' The girls immediately stopped whispering and jumped up.
'Yes we are, Mrs Benton,' Artemis said politely.
'Honestly Artemis,' Nemesis said smiling at the girl. 'Your mother has raised you too well. Please call us by our first names, dear.' She pointed to Belladona and herself.
'Er. Yes, Mrs Nemesis,' the dark haired girl tried again. Rose playfully poked her in the ribs and Emma chuckled while Belladona and Nemesis both giggled and stood up shaking their heads. 'What?' she asked looking unbeknownst at her two friends.
'Elijah, aren't you coming?' Nemesis asked her son who stubbornly kept looking the other way with folded arms and a pouting face. 'Elijah?'
Nemesis went over to the boy and kneeled down. She put a hand on one of his knees and the other one on his arms. 'What's the matter, honey?
'They are making fun of me!' he said acrimoniously.
'Who are?'
He slowly and hesitantly turned his face to his mother, bent over and whispered in her ear. 'Those girls!' He sank back into his chair and threw his hands in the air.
'Let me tell you a little secret.' Elijah's eyes widened as Nemesis motioned her boy to move closer. 'Girls can be quite silly sometimes. And I know because I used to be one myself. You shouldn't place too much importance on their words.' She turned to look right into his big blue eyes again and put a finger to her lips. 'Keep it to yourself.' She winked as his eyes showed little glittering lights. Elijah jumped up and smiled broadly while Nemesis stood up again.
'Ready to go, sailor?'
'I sure am, mommy!' He took her hand and they followed Belladona and the three girls, who were already waiting for them on the street.
*
'So Bella, how are Danny and Violet?' Nemesis asked her when a giggling Emma and Rose stood on stools and were being fitted up for their school robes. Elijah had fully recovered from his fit and was chasing Artemis around Madam Malkin's. Belladona was browsing through some dress robes.
'They are doing very well. Bill has some time off from work. I told you that Saturday, didn't I?' Nemesis nodded as she looked searchingly at a deep blue robe and let her finger play with the velvet. Yet Belladona strangely didn't seemed to be that excited about it like she had been on Saturday.
'They are visiting London Zoo today.'
'Muggle London Zoo?'
'Well, you know, both the Muggle and Wizarding department.'
'I can imagine Violet sitting on her daddy's shoulders all day long.'
They both laughed.
'OUCH!' A squat older Wizard with a colossal belly, holding what looked like two different coloured cloaks, grasped at his stomach as a young boy stumbled to his feet again after apparently falling on the ground.
Nemesis and Belladona rushed over to the scene.
'Elijah, what happened?' Nemesis asked the boy while Belladona made sure the Wizard was fine. Artemis looked at the ground and awkwardly shoved one foot back and forth over the other.
'Er. I accidentally ran into this man.' His mother cast him a disapproving look. 'Are you okay, sir?' she asked the man.
'Hmpf, I'm fine,' he turned around with a grimace and left the scene. 'Youngsters,' they heard him say censoriously to the clerk just before he left the store with the two cloaks he was carrying.
A merry suddenly Emma jumped in front of her mother. 'We're ready!' The girls both carried a large pack with three sets of robes inside, a pointed hat and a cloak.
After paying Madam Malkin they were walking down the Alley again, all carrying something, and looking over the list of required equipment for Hogwarts. Artemis and Elijah were a few feet ahead and enthusiastically pointed at the different shops.
'Well, we got the books already. The garments, the protective gloves, the cauldrons, telescopes, scales, potion ingredients and phials. We still need the wands,' Belladona stated.
'And an animal,' Nemesis winked at her daughter as Belladona frowned at this and Rose noticed.
'You promised me too, Mum!'
'Alright, alright!' She sighed. 'What did you have in mind, then?'
'I'd like to get an owl for myself,' she said to her mother. 'Well, not entirely for myself,' she smiled at Emma.
'And I'd like to have a kneazle!' Emma said firmly.
'Right! But first. Wands, girls,' Nemesis pushed them inside Ollivander's as they reached the shop. A high doorbell rang and seconds later an old man with shining eyes appeared between the shelves.
'Hello, Mr Ollivander,' Nemesis said cheerful.
'Mrs Benton and Mrs Weasley. Good afternoon,' he kindly nodded. 'I trust it's the daughters' turn to receive their wand now, is it? Emma and Rose glowed.
Mr Ollivander motioned to a tape measure to move closer and do his job. Five minutes later he grabbed it and put it in the counter's drawer.
'Right. We'll start off with you, Miss Nightshade Weasley.' He turned around to retrieve a long dusty box and opened it at as he faced Rose again. 'This is a quite rare wand, but I believe it might suit you well. Made of rosewood and dragon heartstring. Very whippy.' Rose took the wand he held out for her and looked at it intriguingly. 'Go on, give it a wave, dear,' he said.
She warily waved her wand at an empty jug on the counter and sparks flew around only to reveal a marvellous bouquet of deep red roses now inside the jug.
'Brilliant,' Mr Ollivander said joyful as the three other children looked at the flowers in complete awe. He seemed to be very pleased with himself. Rose beamed at her mother who winked back at her.
'Now, Miss Benton?'
Emma took a few steps forward.
'Here I have a willow wand, dear. Nine inches long, quite swishy,' he said as he gave Emma a nice light tinted wand.
Following what Rose did just a minute ago, Emma silently swished her wand and pointed it at a nearby standing mirror.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass and falling pieces abruptly broke the stillness.
'Apparently. not,' Mr Ollivander said firmly, frowning his eyebrows. Rose gazed at the former mirror and shrugged her shoulders when she turned her eyes on Emma.
'Try this one,' he continued, now handing her a dark wand. 'Mahogany and Abraxan mane. I'm quite unsure about what it could do or imply though. Never sold this combination before.' Nemesis nonetheless already beamed when she heard the wand's core.
Once again Emma flicked her wand although she was a little more vigilant now. But nothing broke or shattered. Instead, a striking and sparkling blue watery cloud appeared from the tip. Slowly what seemed like a transparent crystal ball became visible in the centre of the cloud. Everyone, including Mr Ollivander, looked at it with open mouths as the cloud with the ball slowly moved towards the door, only to deform and disappear through the letter-box. Nobody moved until the last bit of it went up in the open air, out of sight, leaving misty traces of blue in the wand store, concentrated around the door.
'What was that?' Artemis suddenly blurted out shaking her head as if she woke up from a strange dream. Elijah looked rather terrified and the two mothers exchanged nearly ignorant looks.
'I have never seen something like this before in the many, many years I've worked here,' Mr Ollivander looked very pensive, like he, indeed, as he claimed, was remembering every single wand he had sold.
'This must've had a meaning,' Belladona secretly whispered in Nemesis' ear. 'You don't think-' They both looked terrified for a split second, but Nemesis nervously waved it away.
'No, I don't think so. It can't be!'
'No, you're right, Nem!' Belladona laughed. 'Imagine.'
Nemesis looked at an reassuring Belladona and relaxed.
'Yeah. Imagine.' She stared in empty space.
'Mum? Mum, the money,' Emma pulled her mother's robes.
'Oh, right,' Nemesis answered as she and Belladona hastily grabbed for their purse and counted seven Galleons each.
*
They had left Ollivander's with an odd looking Mr Ollivander. Emma wasn't too sure why he gave her this bizarre face expression when they all had left the store and she had glanced behind her one more time. But despite the weird feeling this all gave her, she was glad with her wand and her mother seemed to be too. Nemesis had hugged her when they were outside, saying, 'Abraxan mane! Just like your mother, aren't you?'
They went to Eeylops Owl Emporium next, where Rose chose a young handsome tawny owl, with intriguing jewel-bright eyes. She didn't know what to call him yet, but kept saying names now and then, asking Emma if she liked them. They were walking a few steps behind the others. Rose held up the cage with one hand, pushing a finger of the other between two bars. 'Now seriously Emma, how are we going to call this messenger?'
'How about. Mercurio?' Emma said after giving it a hard but quick thought. She was curling up her slight crimped shoulder length hair with her fingers.
'Yeah,' Rose exclaimed. 'I like that! Mercurio it is!'
They caught up with the rest who already stepped inside the Magical Menagerie. Minutes later they all left the shop again, with a beaming Emma in front, petting a black and white catlike animal. She turned to Rose when they were standing in the middle of the street and asked her to give the kneazle a name.
'Hm?' Rose brought out.
'It's only fair after I named Mercurio,' she said.
Rose smiled and closed her eyes.
'I've always liked the name Tiger for a cat,' she said as she opened her big, soft blue eyes again.
'Then I shall call him. Tiger,' Emma said solemnly, pretending to be a very notable hostess and bowing a little.
'Silly!' Rose nudged her as they both giggled.
Artemis and Elijah came up to the animal and she petted his head. 'Well, hello then, Tiger,' she said smiling after overhearing his name. She looked a little closer. 'Now look at the both of you!' she almost shouted to Emma in her enthusiasm. 'I could swear you've got the same eyes. Golden irises!'
Rose giggled and agreed with Artemis while Elijah just smirked, which made his sister convinced of his jealousy. He quickly turned around and went over to his mother, who was in a animated conversation with Rose's mother.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
'No honestly. She kind of liked him,' Belladona chuckled.
'And what does Artemis think of all this?'
'Well, she hasn't told her yet. She wants to be sure first she likes him enough. I mean, think about Artemis. Like you said, how would a daughter feel about her mum getting involved with a man who's not her father, right?'
'Absolutely!' Yet Nemesis couldn't conceal her excitement.
'Mum! I'm thirsty,' Elijah interrupted.
'How about getting something to drink in the Leaky Cauldron?' Belladona asked him. 'It's my treat!'
Elijah nodded fervently and rushed over to the girls to tell them.
'We should all get together again at Halloween. The Claw Girls I mean,' said Nemesis distractedly.
'Might be nice! We really should!' Belladona wholeheartedly agreed. She put an arm around Nemesis and they gleefully walked towards their children.
*
The six of them had searched a cosy place and table to sit at in the Leaky Cauldron. Nemesis had brought two butterbeers and four milkshakes -two vanilla ones, a banana and a chocolate- without asking everyone first what they'd like to have. They all seemed satisfied with what she put in front of them.
'Mrs. er, Nemesis,' Artemis looked puzzled. 'How come you knew I'd like to have a vanilla milkshake?'
'I don't know, dear, I just thought.'
'Mum always knows what you want to drink or eat,' Emma said like there wasn't anything more logical in the whole wide world. 'Don't you, mum?'
Belladona looked at her and Nemesis both curiously and thoughtfully.
'Come to think of it, Nem,' she said with a low voice, 'You do!'
Nemesis seemed to be taken aback a little.
'Mothers know what their children like the best, don't they?'
'Yeah, but Artemis isn't your daughter, let alone be family.'
Artemis looked from Belladona to Nemesis and back. Elijah was dreamily and noisily slurping his milkshake with a straw and Emma and Rose were trying each other's flavour.
'I don't like banana too much,' Rose said with a frown after she gave Emma's glass back.
'And I like chocolate, but not as a milkshake flavour.'
Nemesis looked at the dark wooden table and shrugged her shoulders.
'Well, I don't know. I just felt like she could use a vanilla drink.'
Belladona narrowed her eyes but apparently decided to skip the subject by moving to another one.
'Well Artemis,' she smiled at the girl. 'Are you looking forward to your trip?'
'Yes I am,' she said while her face visibly lit up. 'I can't wait to see Egypt and I'm anxious to visit some ruins of ancient Greece.'
'If you are in Egypt and run into Bill, ask him to show you around a little. I'm sure he'd love to do that.'
Artemis nodded and took a swig.
'Is Bill going back soon then?' Nemesis wondered.
'Yes, well, Gringotts asked him to help them out again. They just excavated a new burial place and they can't seem to break the curses of a particular tomb. Must be a really important one.'
Nemesis suddenly realised why Belladona had been less excited about Bill's time off a few hours ago at Madam Malkin's.
'He won't be away for long now, will he?' she asked her friend with sincere compassion.
'I hope not!'
When Artemis looked like she was feeling a tad awkward, Emma and Rose noticed the talk their mothers were having.
'Dad's not going to be able to wave me out to Hogwarts,' Rose said pouting to the two girls. 'He has to go to Egypt.'
'Aw,' Artemis brought out now feeling even more awkward as she moved her chair closer.
Emma put her hand on her best friend's shoulder. 'We can always owl him now,' she tried to cheer her up.
'Yeah, I suppose so.' Rose gave her a faint smile.
'I know how it is, not having your father around on a big day like that. In fact, I know how it is every day.' Artemis said sadly.
It was now Rose and Emma's turn to feel awkward. Emma didn't really know what to say, but she grabbed Artemis' hand and gave it a soft squeeze.
'You'll always have us, you know,' she said pointing at Rose and herself.
'Yeah, definitely!' Rose prompted.
Artemis smiled. 'I know, you guys.'
Emma had known Artemis and Rose as far back as she could remember. All their parents were very close friends with each other and she could recall many holidays, parties and time together. Rose's parents were both working for the Nightshade family company. The Nightshades were a very rich and honoured family, having several mines mostly situated in Europe. Belladona was doing all the financial and business side and worked at home, which gave her the opportunity of taking care of her three children, while Bill was supervising the fieldwork at the mines and did an excellent job helping to raise their offspring. Artemis on the other hand, hadn't known her father. All she knew was that he had been a French Auror and that he had been killed when her mother, Skye Waterstone, was pregnant with her. Artemis was only a year younger than her and had travelled a lot already, since Skye worked at the Ministry as head of the International Relations Department and had to go abroad on numerous occasions.
She herself sometimes knew how it was to miss a father, however she didn't think it was fair to compare her situation to that of Artemis. Emma's father had been quite busy until a few years ago. Joshua Benton had been the bass player of the former famous and cheered band named the Twisted Fates. Over more than ten years they had travelled around the world to play for massive audiences, but they decided to cut it back when the three of them were all complaining rather a lot about the lack of time to spend with their family. So when Trenton O'Brien, the youngest of them, had eventually been getting married, they played for the very last time on his wedding day, already building off their performances the last two years before that. Emma was only seven years old then, Elijah six and their baby brother Samuel had been five months and crying along with their performance.
Yet it didn't mean that her father had stopped writing lyrics and songs, as he had decided to carry on composing after he had written a ballad for little Violet Weasley the day she was born.
Recently though, Josh had been writing a novel and he had a daily column in the Daily Prophet, occasionally composing a new piece of music and selling it to successful bands and singers. Even today, he still had a lot of fans who kept writing letters and sending stuffed animals, the latter, if they were cute, always finding their way to both Emma or Rose's rooms, the former always to the bin.
Her mother had always had a part-time job, wanting to raise her and her brothers herself and not let someone else do it. When the Twisted Fates were touring she had organised a lot of the concerts and managed the time of the members and their roadies, taking over the job from her husband who had that responsibility before she came in, while taking Emma and her brother with her. Now, she was the chief librarian in the recently founded Pince's Wizarding Library for Magical and Non-Magical Reading, hidden next to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in London.
Elijah, her brother, and Artemis were the same age and seemed to have a certain bond because of that. If Artemis wasn't with Rose or Emma, she was always to be found with him. He also liked Daniel a lot, Bill and Belladona's only son who was three years younger. But that didn't seem to stop them from pulling pranks whenever they had the opportunity and acting like twins in the way they were sticking up for each other. Bill always said they reminded him so much of his own twin brothers, George and Fred Weasley, who had a very successful joke shop in Diagon Alley called Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Unfortunately for Elijah, they were closed at this time of year.
'We really should get going,' Nemesis said while looking at her pocket watch and letting it slide into a side pocket of her cloak again. 'Dad will probably be wondering where we are by now.'
Belladona called the waiter and paid for their drinks while everyone stood up and said their goodbyes to each other.
'I'll be seeing you on Platform 9 and ¾,' Emma almost yelled at Rose when they split up in a crowded Muggle London outside the Leaky Cauldron. Rose tried to give her a thumbs up with all the bags she was carrying and showed her the broad smile only she could give her.
'Bye Artemis! Have a good trip and bring me something nice,' she now shouted as the pedestrians around them parted them from view. She instinctively kept Tiger closer to her chest with her free hand.
'Stay close,' her mother said as the three of them turned around and started walking in the direction of a broad store-lined street, frequently bumping into Muggles who were marching, almost in a military quick-march way, down the streets while keeping their eyes fixed to the ground. Next to an electrical gadgets store called Purge & Dowse Ltd., which was the entrance to St Mungo's, they faced a very old dirty green building, having two large windows on each side of the little entrance door. They had become non-transparent by the dirt, but you could still read the words that were painted on them in a once unmistakably pearly white tint: 'Vanderbilt's Bookstore'.
Nemesis pulled the door and let her children in. It was a very dark and musty smelling room. High shelves were filled to the top with old, dusty and affected books.
'What can I do for you, please?' An old blind man with a cane slowly moved forward from the back of the store.
'Hello Mr Vanderbilt,' Elijah and Emma said in chorus.
'Hello Julius,' Nemesis said to the man.
Tiger gave a faint miaow.
'Who do we have here? The Benton children, and what appears to be a kneazle,' the man prompted happily. 'Long time no see.' Emma giggled at this as he stuck out his arm to search for a head while having a firm grip on his cane with the other. His greyish hair seemed unmanageable as it stuck out on all sides of his dark green beret. He found Elijah's head and ruffled through his light coloured hair.
They passed Julius and went over to a bright multi-coloured parrot sitting on a standard next to a large standing mirror in a brass frame.
'Passes please,' the parrot cackled in an almost mechanical voice.
Nemesis pulled three shining gold credit card-sized passes out of her dark brown cloak and put them in the parrot's beak. The mirror glass began to swirl.
'Welcome to Pince's Wizarding Library for Magical and Non-Magical Reading,' the parrot went on. 'May you find here what you are searching for.'
'Bye Mr Vanderbilt!' Emma called after she pushed her brother ahead of her into the mirror.
'See you soon, Julius,' her mother said right behind her.
'Always my pleasure,' he said waving to the place they were standing.
Emma stepped into the mirror and found herself next in the stunning grand place the main room of the Library was. There were several differently shaped shelves dividing the Library in many sections. In the centre of the place was a helpdesk, where her mother used to worked when she wasn't helping anyone to find something in particular. On the opposing side of the mirror entrance were three splendid fireplaces. They worked their way to those, held up two times by Elijah who, because of his tousled hair that fell in front of his eyes, knocked a few books off their shelve by swinging the bags he carried.
'Talk about being clumsy,' Emma muttered to her mother, who gave her a disapproving look, yet couldn't help but smile.
'Shhh. He's quite huffy today,' Nemesis whispered as Elijah joined them at the fireplaces, dropping the bags and pushing his hair out of his face. He sighed and gave them an annoyed look. Nemesis took some Floo powder out of the golden hydria that was placed on top of the closest fireplace and threw it into the flames. Elijah picked up the bags again and resolutely marched into the now green flames, yelling 'The Benton Mansion'. Nemesis and Emma giggled as the boy disappeared and Emma made her way into the flames.
'The Benton Mansion!' She felt the familiar warmth as she was spinning fast past numerous fireplaces, clutching Tiger until she reached the home she always had known and was always glad to come back to after a long day out.
Getting All Set
It was a hot summer Tuesday in London, with a vivid blue sky and a burning sun. Diagon Alley was swarming with people, most of them there to buy the necessary things for the start of the new school year. Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour was crammed with beaming youngsters who were accompanied by their parents. Some of them had big bags and piles next to them, together with puffing and exhausted looking mums and dads.
'Mommy,' said a young wizard with sandy coloured hair and bright blue eyes, sitting behind an ice-cream which was huge in comparison to his height. 'Emma is eating all the blueberry!' He pointed at a hole in the middle of the towering ice-cream, supported by a large cup, which only became bigger as a girl kept spooning out the blueberry flavoured ice cream soda with a little golden shining teaspoon.
'Mommy, look at it!' he said a tad louder as his mother didn't seem to notice, but kept staring into the crowd that was walking by the shop, letting her head rest on her left fist while her other hand played with the silver bordered rim of the sleeve of the dark blue robe she was wearing.
'Oh, you big baby,' the dark haired girl hissed, hitting his head with her spoon. The boy looked at his older sister who already had resumed to spoon out more of the blueberry savour and as it trembled, he bit his lip.
'Mommy! Emma hit me w-'
'Elijah!' the mother said loudly as she abruptly turned her rich colourful eyes on him. Her almost blond hair fell in her face and she gracefully ran her fingers through it in a vain attempt to get it away from blocking her view on the appalled boy. 'How many times have I told you to stop droning?
Emma grinned while bringing a spoon full of blueberry ice cream soda to her mouth.
'But mommy, she-' the ice cream was already dangerously affected and ominously bent over to Elijah only to plaster him milliseconds later.
'Watch it!' Emma yelled as she jumped away.
SPLASH!
The little boy helplessly looked up to his mother, covered by their Forest Fruit ice-cup, with a deep crimson cherry sticking out on top of his head.
'Oh dear.' the mother sighed while shaking her head. She swiftly pulled out her wand and muttered something as she gave it a flick. The ice cream vanished immediately, leaving no trace of what so ever on Elijah's outfit, hair or face.
He smoothened his clothes as he sat straight up and recovered from what had just happened.
'Now look what you've done,' he said to his sister angrily. 'No ice cream anymore for both of us!' He muttered as he folded his arms and sank back into his chair, looking to the ground. Emma took no offence and watched her mother searching the crowd.
'Mum? When's Rose coming?' She asked with her spoon still in her mouth and chewing on it. She was dangling her legs under the table in anticipation.
'I don't know, Emma,' she answered. 'They should've been here already.' Emma saw the concerned look on her face and turned to watch the crowd herself. Elijah was still muttering under his breath.
Minutes passed by as the three of them saw hundreds of people walking past Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. A lot of the young people gazed at the shop licking their lips while wiping off the sweat on their forehead with their sleeves.
Suddenly Emma saw the red headed girl she was waiting for.
'Rose!' she exclaimed and a big smile spread across her face.
Rose, very visible by her flaming red hair, came out of the crowd joined by her mother Belladona, who was pushing both her and another girl Emma knew, forward.
'Artemis!' Emma yelled out.
The two girls rushed over to Emma the second they heard and saw her. They immediately sat down at the table and started to talk while Elijah kept muttering.
'Nemesis,' Belladona said almost breathlessly to Emma's mother. 'How are you?'
'Hi Bella,' Nemesis replied. 'I was a bit concerned there. Thought you'd never show up or that maybe something might've happened.' She couldn't hide the worried nature in her voice.
Belladona grinned at her. 'Always worried, that's how we know our Nem.' She quickly took a chair from another table that had just been emptied by one of the waitresses, as another family already rushed to it. 'You don't mind, do you?' she asked the parents, who only seemed to have two small children.
'No, of course not,' they said panting but cheerful. 'We don't need that fifth chair.'
Belladona sat down next to Nemesis, looking at the children. 'We had to pick up Artemis first. Skye had some urgent business down at the Ministry and she needed someone to look after her.'
'Oh, I see,' Nemesis replied before she took a last large swig from her soda. She watched the cute girl Artemis was and saw a little version of her mother, only with darker hair and brighter blue eyes.
'Something wrong with little Eli?' Belladona asked observing the boy who was now pouting and looking angry at the three raving girls next to him, who started to whisper after realising the glares from Elijah.
'The usual,' Nemesis said loud enough so he could clearly hear it. He looked up at his mother and furiously turned to look the other way.
Nemesis grinned and turned to Belladona, who barely could suppress a titter.
'I really wonder when he's going to act his age. Anyway, want a drink, Bella?'
'No, thank you. We'd better get going. It's very crowded and I haven't bought Rose anything yet.'
'Same here.' Nemesis now swivelled to the children. 'Well, are you all ready to go shopping then?' The girls immediately stopped whispering and jumped up.
'Yes we are, Mrs Benton,' Artemis said politely.
'Honestly Artemis,' Nemesis said smiling at the girl. 'Your mother has raised you too well. Please call us by our first names, dear.' She pointed to Belladona and herself.
'Er. Yes, Mrs Nemesis,' the dark haired girl tried again. Rose playfully poked her in the ribs and Emma chuckled while Belladona and Nemesis both giggled and stood up shaking their heads. 'What?' she asked looking unbeknownst at her two friends.
'Elijah, aren't you coming?' Nemesis asked her son who stubbornly kept looking the other way with folded arms and a pouting face. 'Elijah?'
Nemesis went over to the boy and kneeled down. She put a hand on one of his knees and the other one on his arms. 'What's the matter, honey?
'They are making fun of me!' he said acrimoniously.
'Who are?'
He slowly and hesitantly turned his face to his mother, bent over and whispered in her ear. 'Those girls!' He sank back into his chair and threw his hands in the air.
'Let me tell you a little secret.' Elijah's eyes widened as Nemesis motioned her boy to move closer. 'Girls can be quite silly sometimes. And I know because I used to be one myself. You shouldn't place too much importance on their words.' She turned to look right into his big blue eyes again and put a finger to her lips. 'Keep it to yourself.' She winked as his eyes showed little glittering lights. Elijah jumped up and smiled broadly while Nemesis stood up again.
'Ready to go, sailor?'
'I sure am, mommy!' He took her hand and they followed Belladona and the three girls, who were already waiting for them on the street.
*
'So Bella, how are Danny and Violet?' Nemesis asked her when a giggling Emma and Rose stood on stools and were being fitted up for their school robes. Elijah had fully recovered from his fit and was chasing Artemis around Madam Malkin's. Belladona was browsing through some dress robes.
'They are doing very well. Bill has some time off from work. I told you that Saturday, didn't I?' Nemesis nodded as she looked searchingly at a deep blue robe and let her finger play with the velvet. Yet Belladona strangely didn't seemed to be that excited about it like she had been on Saturday.
'They are visiting London Zoo today.'
'Muggle London Zoo?'
'Well, you know, both the Muggle and Wizarding department.'
'I can imagine Violet sitting on her daddy's shoulders all day long.'
They both laughed.
'OUCH!' A squat older Wizard with a colossal belly, holding what looked like two different coloured cloaks, grasped at his stomach as a young boy stumbled to his feet again after apparently falling on the ground.
Nemesis and Belladona rushed over to the scene.
'Elijah, what happened?' Nemesis asked the boy while Belladona made sure the Wizard was fine. Artemis looked at the ground and awkwardly shoved one foot back and forth over the other.
'Er. I accidentally ran into this man.' His mother cast him a disapproving look. 'Are you okay, sir?' she asked the man.
'Hmpf, I'm fine,' he turned around with a grimace and left the scene. 'Youngsters,' they heard him say censoriously to the clerk just before he left the store with the two cloaks he was carrying.
A merry suddenly Emma jumped in front of her mother. 'We're ready!' The girls both carried a large pack with three sets of robes inside, a pointed hat and a cloak.
After paying Madam Malkin they were walking down the Alley again, all carrying something, and looking over the list of required equipment for Hogwarts. Artemis and Elijah were a few feet ahead and enthusiastically pointed at the different shops.
'Well, we got the books already. The garments, the protective gloves, the cauldrons, telescopes, scales, potion ingredients and phials. We still need the wands,' Belladona stated.
'And an animal,' Nemesis winked at her daughter as Belladona frowned at this and Rose noticed.
'You promised me too, Mum!'
'Alright, alright!' She sighed. 'What did you have in mind, then?'
'I'd like to get an owl for myself,' she said to her mother. 'Well, not entirely for myself,' she smiled at Emma.
'And I'd like to have a kneazle!' Emma said firmly.
'Right! But first. Wands, girls,' Nemesis pushed them inside Ollivander's as they reached the shop. A high doorbell rang and seconds later an old man with shining eyes appeared between the shelves.
'Hello, Mr Ollivander,' Nemesis said cheerful.
'Mrs Benton and Mrs Weasley. Good afternoon,' he kindly nodded. 'I trust it's the daughters' turn to receive their wand now, is it? Emma and Rose glowed.
Mr Ollivander motioned to a tape measure to move closer and do his job. Five minutes later he grabbed it and put it in the counter's drawer.
'Right. We'll start off with you, Miss Nightshade Weasley.' He turned around to retrieve a long dusty box and opened it at as he faced Rose again. 'This is a quite rare wand, but I believe it might suit you well. Made of rosewood and dragon heartstring. Very whippy.' Rose took the wand he held out for her and looked at it intriguingly. 'Go on, give it a wave, dear,' he said.
She warily waved her wand at an empty jug on the counter and sparks flew around only to reveal a marvellous bouquet of deep red roses now inside the jug.
'Brilliant,' Mr Ollivander said joyful as the three other children looked at the flowers in complete awe. He seemed to be very pleased with himself. Rose beamed at her mother who winked back at her.
'Now, Miss Benton?'
Emma took a few steps forward.
'Here I have a willow wand, dear. Nine inches long, quite swishy,' he said as he gave Emma a nice light tinted wand.
Following what Rose did just a minute ago, Emma silently swished her wand and pointed it at a nearby standing mirror.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering glass and falling pieces abruptly broke the stillness.
'Apparently. not,' Mr Ollivander said firmly, frowning his eyebrows. Rose gazed at the former mirror and shrugged her shoulders when she turned her eyes on Emma.
'Try this one,' he continued, now handing her a dark wand. 'Mahogany and Abraxan mane. I'm quite unsure about what it could do or imply though. Never sold this combination before.' Nemesis nonetheless already beamed when she heard the wand's core.
Once again Emma flicked her wand although she was a little more vigilant now. But nothing broke or shattered. Instead, a striking and sparkling blue watery cloud appeared from the tip. Slowly what seemed like a transparent crystal ball became visible in the centre of the cloud. Everyone, including Mr Ollivander, looked at it with open mouths as the cloud with the ball slowly moved towards the door, only to deform and disappear through the letter-box. Nobody moved until the last bit of it went up in the open air, out of sight, leaving misty traces of blue in the wand store, concentrated around the door.
'What was that?' Artemis suddenly blurted out shaking her head as if she woke up from a strange dream. Elijah looked rather terrified and the two mothers exchanged nearly ignorant looks.
'I have never seen something like this before in the many, many years I've worked here,' Mr Ollivander looked very pensive, like he, indeed, as he claimed, was remembering every single wand he had sold.
'This must've had a meaning,' Belladona secretly whispered in Nemesis' ear. 'You don't think-' They both looked terrified for a split second, but Nemesis nervously waved it away.
'No, I don't think so. It can't be!'
'No, you're right, Nem!' Belladona laughed. 'Imagine.'
Nemesis looked at an reassuring Belladona and relaxed.
'Yeah. Imagine.' She stared in empty space.
'Mum? Mum, the money,' Emma pulled her mother's robes.
'Oh, right,' Nemesis answered as she and Belladona hastily grabbed for their purse and counted seven Galleons each.
*
They had left Ollivander's with an odd looking Mr Ollivander. Emma wasn't too sure why he gave her this bizarre face expression when they all had left the store and she had glanced behind her one more time. But despite the weird feeling this all gave her, she was glad with her wand and her mother seemed to be too. Nemesis had hugged her when they were outside, saying, 'Abraxan mane! Just like your mother, aren't you?'
They went to Eeylops Owl Emporium next, where Rose chose a young handsome tawny owl, with intriguing jewel-bright eyes. She didn't know what to call him yet, but kept saying names now and then, asking Emma if she liked them. They were walking a few steps behind the others. Rose held up the cage with one hand, pushing a finger of the other between two bars. 'Now seriously Emma, how are we going to call this messenger?'
'How about. Mercurio?' Emma said after giving it a hard but quick thought. She was curling up her slight crimped shoulder length hair with her fingers.
'Yeah,' Rose exclaimed. 'I like that! Mercurio it is!'
They caught up with the rest who already stepped inside the Magical Menagerie. Minutes later they all left the shop again, with a beaming Emma in front, petting a black and white catlike animal. She turned to Rose when they were standing in the middle of the street and asked her to give the kneazle a name.
'Hm?' Rose brought out.
'It's only fair after I named Mercurio,' she said.
Rose smiled and closed her eyes.
'I've always liked the name Tiger for a cat,' she said as she opened her big, soft blue eyes again.
'Then I shall call him. Tiger,' Emma said solemnly, pretending to be a very notable hostess and bowing a little.
'Silly!' Rose nudged her as they both giggled.
Artemis and Elijah came up to the animal and she petted his head. 'Well, hello then, Tiger,' she said smiling after overhearing his name. She looked a little closer. 'Now look at the both of you!' she almost shouted to Emma in her enthusiasm. 'I could swear you've got the same eyes. Golden irises!'
Rose giggled and agreed with Artemis while Elijah just smirked, which made his sister convinced of his jealousy. He quickly turned around and went over to his mother, who was in a animated conversation with Rose's mother.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
'No honestly. She kind of liked him,' Belladona chuckled.
'And what does Artemis think of all this?'
'Well, she hasn't told her yet. She wants to be sure first she likes him enough. I mean, think about Artemis. Like you said, how would a daughter feel about her mum getting involved with a man who's not her father, right?'
'Absolutely!' Yet Nemesis couldn't conceal her excitement.
'Mum! I'm thirsty,' Elijah interrupted.
'How about getting something to drink in the Leaky Cauldron?' Belladona asked him. 'It's my treat!'
Elijah nodded fervently and rushed over to the girls to tell them.
'We should all get together again at Halloween. The Claw Girls I mean,' said Nemesis distractedly.
'Might be nice! We really should!' Belladona wholeheartedly agreed. She put an arm around Nemesis and they gleefully walked towards their children.
*
The six of them had searched a cosy place and table to sit at in the Leaky Cauldron. Nemesis had brought two butterbeers and four milkshakes -two vanilla ones, a banana and a chocolate- without asking everyone first what they'd like to have. They all seemed satisfied with what she put in front of them.
'Mrs. er, Nemesis,' Artemis looked puzzled. 'How come you knew I'd like to have a vanilla milkshake?'
'I don't know, dear, I just thought.'
'Mum always knows what you want to drink or eat,' Emma said like there wasn't anything more logical in the whole wide world. 'Don't you, mum?'
Belladona looked at her and Nemesis both curiously and thoughtfully.
'Come to think of it, Nem,' she said with a low voice, 'You do!'
Nemesis seemed to be taken aback a little.
'Mothers know what their children like the best, don't they?'
'Yeah, but Artemis isn't your daughter, let alone be family.'
Artemis looked from Belladona to Nemesis and back. Elijah was dreamily and noisily slurping his milkshake with a straw and Emma and Rose were trying each other's flavour.
'I don't like banana too much,' Rose said with a frown after she gave Emma's glass back.
'And I like chocolate, but not as a milkshake flavour.'
Nemesis looked at the dark wooden table and shrugged her shoulders.
'Well, I don't know. I just felt like she could use a vanilla drink.'
Belladona narrowed her eyes but apparently decided to skip the subject by moving to another one.
'Well Artemis,' she smiled at the girl. 'Are you looking forward to your trip?'
'Yes I am,' she said while her face visibly lit up. 'I can't wait to see Egypt and I'm anxious to visit some ruins of ancient Greece.'
'If you are in Egypt and run into Bill, ask him to show you around a little. I'm sure he'd love to do that.'
Artemis nodded and took a swig.
'Is Bill going back soon then?' Nemesis wondered.
'Yes, well, Gringotts asked him to help them out again. They just excavated a new burial place and they can't seem to break the curses of a particular tomb. Must be a really important one.'
Nemesis suddenly realised why Belladona had been less excited about Bill's time off a few hours ago at Madam Malkin's.
'He won't be away for long now, will he?' she asked her friend with sincere compassion.
'I hope not!'
When Artemis looked like she was feeling a tad awkward, Emma and Rose noticed the talk their mothers were having.
'Dad's not going to be able to wave me out to Hogwarts,' Rose said pouting to the two girls. 'He has to go to Egypt.'
'Aw,' Artemis brought out now feeling even more awkward as she moved her chair closer.
Emma put her hand on her best friend's shoulder. 'We can always owl him now,' she tried to cheer her up.
'Yeah, I suppose so.' Rose gave her a faint smile.
'I know how it is, not having your father around on a big day like that. In fact, I know how it is every day.' Artemis said sadly.
It was now Rose and Emma's turn to feel awkward. Emma didn't really know what to say, but she grabbed Artemis' hand and gave it a soft squeeze.
'You'll always have us, you know,' she said pointing at Rose and herself.
'Yeah, definitely!' Rose prompted.
Artemis smiled. 'I know, you guys.'
Emma had known Artemis and Rose as far back as she could remember. All their parents were very close friends with each other and she could recall many holidays, parties and time together. Rose's parents were both working for the Nightshade family company. The Nightshades were a very rich and honoured family, having several mines mostly situated in Europe. Belladona was doing all the financial and business side and worked at home, which gave her the opportunity of taking care of her three children, while Bill was supervising the fieldwork at the mines and did an excellent job helping to raise their offspring. Artemis on the other hand, hadn't known her father. All she knew was that he had been a French Auror and that he had been killed when her mother, Skye Waterstone, was pregnant with her. Artemis was only a year younger than her and had travelled a lot already, since Skye worked at the Ministry as head of the International Relations Department and had to go abroad on numerous occasions.
She herself sometimes knew how it was to miss a father, however she didn't think it was fair to compare her situation to that of Artemis. Emma's father had been quite busy until a few years ago. Joshua Benton had been the bass player of the former famous and cheered band named the Twisted Fates. Over more than ten years they had travelled around the world to play for massive audiences, but they decided to cut it back when the three of them were all complaining rather a lot about the lack of time to spend with their family. So when Trenton O'Brien, the youngest of them, had eventually been getting married, they played for the very last time on his wedding day, already building off their performances the last two years before that. Emma was only seven years old then, Elijah six and their baby brother Samuel had been five months and crying along with their performance.
Yet it didn't mean that her father had stopped writing lyrics and songs, as he had decided to carry on composing after he had written a ballad for little Violet Weasley the day she was born.
Recently though, Josh had been writing a novel and he had a daily column in the Daily Prophet, occasionally composing a new piece of music and selling it to successful bands and singers. Even today, he still had a lot of fans who kept writing letters and sending stuffed animals, the latter, if they were cute, always finding their way to both Emma or Rose's rooms, the former always to the bin.
Her mother had always had a part-time job, wanting to raise her and her brothers herself and not let someone else do it. When the Twisted Fates were touring she had organised a lot of the concerts and managed the time of the members and their roadies, taking over the job from her husband who had that responsibility before she came in, while taking Emma and her brother with her. Now, she was the chief librarian in the recently founded Pince's Wizarding Library for Magical and Non-Magical Reading, hidden next to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries in London.
Elijah, her brother, and Artemis were the same age and seemed to have a certain bond because of that. If Artemis wasn't with Rose or Emma, she was always to be found with him. He also liked Daniel a lot, Bill and Belladona's only son who was three years younger. But that didn't seem to stop them from pulling pranks whenever they had the opportunity and acting like twins in the way they were sticking up for each other. Bill always said they reminded him so much of his own twin brothers, George and Fred Weasley, who had a very successful joke shop in Diagon Alley called Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. Unfortunately for Elijah, they were closed at this time of year.
'We really should get going,' Nemesis said while looking at her pocket watch and letting it slide into a side pocket of her cloak again. 'Dad will probably be wondering where we are by now.'
Belladona called the waiter and paid for their drinks while everyone stood up and said their goodbyes to each other.
'I'll be seeing you on Platform 9 and ¾,' Emma almost yelled at Rose when they split up in a crowded Muggle London outside the Leaky Cauldron. Rose tried to give her a thumbs up with all the bags she was carrying and showed her the broad smile only she could give her.
'Bye Artemis! Have a good trip and bring me something nice,' she now shouted as the pedestrians around them parted them from view. She instinctively kept Tiger closer to her chest with her free hand.
'Stay close,' her mother said as the three of them turned around and started walking in the direction of a broad store-lined street, frequently bumping into Muggles who were marching, almost in a military quick-march way, down the streets while keeping their eyes fixed to the ground. Next to an electrical gadgets store called Purge & Dowse Ltd., which was the entrance to St Mungo's, they faced a very old dirty green building, having two large windows on each side of the little entrance door. They had become non-transparent by the dirt, but you could still read the words that were painted on them in a once unmistakably pearly white tint: 'Vanderbilt's Bookstore'.
Nemesis pulled the door and let her children in. It was a very dark and musty smelling room. High shelves were filled to the top with old, dusty and affected books.
'What can I do for you, please?' An old blind man with a cane slowly moved forward from the back of the store.
'Hello Mr Vanderbilt,' Elijah and Emma said in chorus.
'Hello Julius,' Nemesis said to the man.
Tiger gave a faint miaow.
'Who do we have here? The Benton children, and what appears to be a kneazle,' the man prompted happily. 'Long time no see.' Emma giggled at this as he stuck out his arm to search for a head while having a firm grip on his cane with the other. His greyish hair seemed unmanageable as it stuck out on all sides of his dark green beret. He found Elijah's head and ruffled through his light coloured hair.
They passed Julius and went over to a bright multi-coloured parrot sitting on a standard next to a large standing mirror in a brass frame.
'Passes please,' the parrot cackled in an almost mechanical voice.
Nemesis pulled three shining gold credit card-sized passes out of her dark brown cloak and put them in the parrot's beak. The mirror glass began to swirl.
'Welcome to Pince's Wizarding Library for Magical and Non-Magical Reading,' the parrot went on. 'May you find here what you are searching for.'
'Bye Mr Vanderbilt!' Emma called after she pushed her brother ahead of her into the mirror.
'See you soon, Julius,' her mother said right behind her.
'Always my pleasure,' he said waving to the place they were standing.
Emma stepped into the mirror and found herself next in the stunning grand place the main room of the Library was. There were several differently shaped shelves dividing the Library in many sections. In the centre of the place was a helpdesk, where her mother used to worked when she wasn't helping anyone to find something in particular. On the opposing side of the mirror entrance were three splendid fireplaces. They worked their way to those, held up two times by Elijah who, because of his tousled hair that fell in front of his eyes, knocked a few books off their shelve by swinging the bags he carried.
'Talk about being clumsy,' Emma muttered to her mother, who gave her a disapproving look, yet couldn't help but smile.
'Shhh. He's quite huffy today,' Nemesis whispered as Elijah joined them at the fireplaces, dropping the bags and pushing his hair out of his face. He sighed and gave them an annoyed look. Nemesis took some Floo powder out of the golden hydria that was placed on top of the closest fireplace and threw it into the flames. Elijah picked up the bags again and resolutely marched into the now green flames, yelling 'The Benton Mansion'. Nemesis and Emma giggled as the boy disappeared and Emma made her way into the flames.
'The Benton Mansion!' She felt the familiar warmth as she was spinning fast past numerous fireplaces, clutching Tiger until she reached the home she always had known and was always glad to come back to after a long day out.