A/N: I am a rock and mineral geek! We're talking hardcore geek here. My collection has over 4000 pieces in it and is still growing.
Moonstone
Arthur Weasley flung a hand over his eyes in hopes of going back to sleep. It was hot and muggy though, so he gave up and quietly got out of bed to go fetch a glass of water. The top half of the kitchen door was open and he could hear quiet voices as they chatted just beyond it. Arthur got his water and went to the door to see who else was up and stopped and stared at the sight in his back yard. Glowing softly in the moonlight were dozens of stones laid out in intricate patterns in the grass. He leaned on the lower half of the door and saw who the voices belonged to. Bill and George were up and talking quietly.
"You alright Dad?" Bill asked.
"M'fine, what…?" Arthur replied, pointing to the stones in the grass.
George chuckled softly. "The mid-summer full moon," he said. Arthur nodded as it dawned on him what all the glowing stones were. "You should have seen it earlier when the girls were all here laying them out to be charged in the moonlight," his younger son added.
Arthur chuckled with his sons. He remembered when he first saw Molly gather every one of her moonstones and lay them out to be charged in the mid summer full moon. Having grown up with all brothers, and himself having mostly sons, he tended to forget that witches valued their moonstones highly and treated them with great respect and care. He spied a particularly large one in the rough that he knew belonged to Molly in the centre of the pattern on the ground. He could make out what looked like one of Audrey's bracelets laying next to the centre stone and another that he was sure belonged to Hermione. Then he noticed that what seemed to be floating just above the stones.
Bill chuckled when he saw his father narrow his eyes just above the stones on the ground. Arthur could just catch glimpses of something barely glittering in the moonlight. "Fleur, Angelina, and Ginny all have several moonstone necklaces and pendants that they wanted to charge too," Bill answered his father's unasked question.
"So they just looped them over the clothes line," George added.
Arthur nodded in realisation. The delicate sliver chains looked like thin strands of liquid moonlight. He found the sight to be rather beautiful once his eyes fully adjusted to the low light. "They roped you two into guard duty then?" Arthur asked after a moment.
"Nah," George replied. "Can't sleep in this heat."
"And I can't sleep during a full moon at all," Bill added, absently scratching at the scars on his face.
"Besides, it's not like the gnomes are gonna nick them," George shrugged.
"Nothing could get near them anyway," Bill said. "Not with all the charms and enchantments that the girls put up at least."
"The cat's miffed about that one," George snorted. Arthur could just make out the shadowy figure of a cat laying nearby, staring at the necklaces with longing.
Arthur chatted with his sons for a little while longer, before yawning and heading back up to bed. The following morning Molly Weasley saw that the top half of the door was open as she came down in the pre dawn and could swear she heard snoring just beyond the door. She leaned out and saw George sprawled in one of the large lawn chairs and Bill sitting on the top step, leaning against the wall. She thought they were both asleep until Bill looked up at her and smiled.
"Morning Mum," he greeted softly.
"Morning Dear, did you two stay out here all night?" Molly asked as she stepped outside.
Bill stood up and stretched. "Yep," he said after stifling a yawn. "George nodded off about an hour ago, and I've been dozing off and on since the moon set," he added.
"Whu…?" George muttered as he awoke to the sound of their voices. "Hey Mum," he said when he saw her.
Molly tutted as the two stretched out their tall lanky frames. "Bed both of you," she ordered. The two men made it as far as the sitting room before falling onto couches and resuming their snoozes.
Molly saw this and shook her head. She made a cup of tea and sat at the kitchen table while she waited for Ginny, her daughters in law, and granddaughters to wake up so they could go fetch their freshly recharged moonstones from the garden.
FIN
Tanzanite
George Weasley pondered how he was going to go about with one of the biggest decisions of his life. He'd left Verity in charge of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and left to stroll along Diagon Alley. He was fairly certain that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Angelina Johnson. He'd even taken Angelina's father out to dinner to ask for her hand in marriage. Mr Johnson figured out what the dinner invite was for and as the two were waiting to be seated, he'd given his blessing to George. It wasn't the asking that had George wandering the busy shopping street. It was how he was going to do it that had him puzzled. It was the ring; he decided that was the source of his frustration. Angelina Johnson was no ordinary woman. She was exotic and intoxicating and she loved him unconditionally. They'd started dating right before he and Fred had left Hogwarts, and she had saved him from oblivion when Fred was killed in the final battle of the war.
He passed by the window of Wing's Jewellers before stopping and stepping back to look at the display near the front of the window. Beautiful pieces of jewellery glittered in the midday sunlight, everything from necklaces and bracelets to rings and earrings. He knew that the stones featured in the pieces weren't sapphires, though at first glance that's what he thought they were. They were too blue and brilliant to be sapphires, so he went inside to ask about them. The proprietor said that the stones were a form of zoisite, called tanzanite. She went on to explain that the stones were found in only one small area of the world near the foot of Mt Kilimanjaro. She also joked that the stones were what sapphire wished that it looked like, as she took out a tray of jewellery for George to have a better look at.
A platinum ring with a tanzanite solitaire caught his attention and he picked it up to have a better look. It was perfect, he though as he manoeuvred the ring around to see the way the stone flashed in the light. It was uncommonly rare, far more exotic than anything he knew of, and came from the area in Africa that Angelina's family had originated from centuries ago. He slid the ring onto his ring finger and it stopped just below the first knuckle. It was the right size too. He took the ring off and handed it over to the sales lady and reached for his money purse. She smiled knowingly as she gave the ring a quick polish and placed it into a velvet ring box. The ring paid for, George tucked the box into his pocket and quickly made his way back to the joke shop.
Angelina was fiddling with potion bottle designs in the workshop when George came in to find her. She had the lump of molten glass levitated as she used her wand to shape it into various shapes before being satisfied with one. George watched her as she held the newly formed bottle aloft until it had cooled enough to touch before approaching her. Angelina had heard him enter and held up the bottle to ask what he thought. The glass dropped from her hand and shattered on the floor when she saw George sink down to his knee and present the ring to her. She managed to stammer out 'yes' before falling into his arms and kissing him senseless.
FIN
Jet
Pomona Sprout fiddled with the small disc shaped pendant at her neck. It was silver and set with a piece of jet. It had been given to her by the previous Herbology professor and now it was her turn to pass it on to her successor. It was widely accepted in the wizarding world that jet was the herbologist's best friend, as it had once been a plant itself. The stone was the fossilised remains of burnt trees. Pomona had never taken the necklace off once she'd received it. It had become a part of her and she knew that she was going to miss it. However it was going to the best student she'd ever taught.
She remembered the painfully shy boy with the exaggerated features. Neville Longbottom was not the first person she figured would become a master herbologist. Pomona had figured Hermione Granger would the greatest student that she'd ever taught, but no. The shy boy who was usually the victim of ruthless Slytherin students had found his calling among the strange and wonderful plants housed in the school's greenhouses. Neville would be arriving soon, so Pomona spent the remaining minutes waiting and gazing at the piece of jet that had once belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. Of the original founders of the school, it was Rowena who had been the master herbologist. She had started the tradition of passing the necklace on to the post's successor and Pomona knew she wasn't about to break tradition just because she had come to love the piece herself.
There was a knock on the door and Pomona Sprout sniffled. Rising from her desk she turned to face the door and welcomed Neville in. He'd grown from the shy boy into a confident man and she couldn't have been prouder. Deciding to not waste time, Pomona removed the necklace and placed it around Neville's neck. She told him of the tradition behind it before he could refuse her generous gift. The pair walked over to her desk to sit down but stopped when they saw the parchment and small parcel that had materialised on the worn surface. Neville watched as Pomona opened the parcel and hugged her shoulders when she gasped. It was an exact copy of the necklace she'd just handed over to Neville. He picked up the parchment and read it at his former teacher's insistence. She couldn't see very well for the tears of joy in her eyes.
Dearest Professor,
A gift, in return for your noble services to this school and the teaching of others the rich history and use of the wonderful plants in our world. Wear it in good health.
Rowena Ravenclaw.
Neville set the parchment aside and helped Pomona with the necklace. He laughed when she hugged him tightly and promised to pass along the knowledge she'd passed onto him.
FIN
Tiger Eye
Charlie Weasley took a step back and wiped the sweat from his brow. Digging posts for dragon pens was back breaking work and could easily be done with magic, but as a dragon trainer, Charlie preferred to do it manually. The work helped keep him in shape. He took a swig of water from the canteen hanging on his hip before returning to the digging. The shovel hit a rock and Charlie hopped into the hole to pry the rock loose. Next to the large flat rock he spied something partially buried in the soil that shined. He picked it up and brushed the mud away to find that it was a large tiger eye cabochon pendant with a sword carved into it. What struck him the most was that the stone itself was a dark greenish blue. He'd never seen one that colour before. He pocketed the pendant and went back to finishing the post hole.
Later at a local pub, Charlie pulled out the pendent to show to his mate Ivas. "I found it buried where I was digging those new pens," he said as he passed the pendant over.
"Is old Roman piece," Ivas said as he inspected it.
"Roman?" Charlie asked before shrugging. "Figures, they were everywhere else." Ivas shot him a look before shaking his head. "So about how old do you reckon it is?" Charlie asked.
Ivas shrugged. "Two thousand years probably. Alchemist can tell better," he replied, handing it back to Charlie.
"So it was what? A muggle talisman of some kind?" Charlie asked as he studied it in the candlelight.
"Ja, for protection in battle and against danger," Ivas replied. "Of course back in those days we didn't hide from muggles as much as we do now," he added as an afterthought.
"This is true," Charlie murmured in agreement. He leant back in his seat and fished around in one of the pockets of his pants and came up with a coil of leather cord. He cut a piece to length and strung it through the hole at the top of the pendant and slipped it over his head. "Looks good yeah?"
Ivas laughed. "You're no Roman, but ja, looks good," he agreed.
Charlie ran his hand through his red hair and laughed. "Nope, this is all Celt."
Ivas made a joke that the talisman's protection might not work for him then. Months later Charlie looked down at the blue tiger eye hanging from his neck. He took it in his hand and kissed it. He'd just dodged out of the way of certain death from the tail end of a very testy Horntail. Celt or not, Charlie figured that maybe the piece was indeed protecting him. He swore that the pendant was offering its protection when he survived the final Battle at Hogwarts two years later.
FIN
Diamond
(A/N: Diamonds come in just about every colour imaginable, and coloured diamonds are technically flawed, because they're not pure carbon.)
The muggle saying went something like "diamonds are a girl's best friend", and Victoire Weasley had to agree. She was not at all a girly girl like many of her friends and classmates, not by any stretch of the imagination, but she did like diamonds. And not just any diamonds, the coloured ones were her favourites. Victoire mused that diamonds that were technically flawed were so much more highly valued over their clear siblings. When she had turned fourteen, she had asked her uncle George for a summer job working at the joke shop. He'd gladly taken her on and Victoire had saved her galleons so that she could buy her own diamonds.
Her first purchase was a pair of small black diamond studs. She called them cosmic diamonds because of where they came from. Cosmically irradiated diamonds that rode to earth on meteors millions of years ago. Victoire had been awed when she learned that in Astronomy class. Her second purchase was of a small silver ring channel set with tiny blue diamonds. It wasn't the size of the stones that mattered to her, but the colour. The dozen diamonds that made up the setting in the band were not quite a half carat in total weight, and they were tiny. She didn't care. They were the beautiful blue of a tropical sea, just like she loved. Dominique had teased her about buying her own diamond ring, but Victoire shrugged and said who would know what she wanted in the first place. And besides, she'd added, what was wrong with a woman buying her own diamonds? Dominique had to admit that her sister had a point.
When Victoire turned seventeen her parents presented her with a second pair of diamond studs. They were the clear ones that most people were familiar with but she didn't care. They were from her parents and presented to her with love. She was glad she had several ear piercings and didn't have to swap out studs depending on what she wanted to wear that day. The studs from her parents rested next to the black ones she had bought a few summers prior. At the age of nineteen she had saved enough money to commission a second ring design. The jeweller had tried to convince her to go with bigger stones, but Victoire held firm. She wanted the white gold band with the curved channel setting to be filled with tiny diamonds like her blue one. The jeweller shrugged and made the ring as she had requested. She grinned in delight when the jeweller presented her with the finished piece a week later. The diamonds were arranged from darkest to lightest in the setting. A rainbow of colours flashed in the light and dazzled her with their brilliance.
Ted Lupin knew from a very young age that his best friend Victoire liked coloured diamonds. While on an Auror mission abroad he found the perfect diamond for her. A soft green solitaire that was being sold in an estate sale. Converting galleons to muggle money was easy enough and he smirked when the estate manager completed the sale and handed over the diamond pendant. The sea green diamond would be the biggest diamond Victoire owned to date; Ted thought when he went to a jeweller to have the stone reset into a ring. It was Victoire's twenty first birthday and Ted had managed to drag her away from the party long enough to propose to her. She said yes and Ted snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring he had had made. The family rushed over when they heard her scream only to see her bouncing in delight as Ted slid the ring onto her finger.
FIN
Obsidian
Draco Malfoy had never admitted to his peers in Hogwarts that he rather enjoyed Divination class. They would have harassed him mercilessly for being a swot like Granger. But he did feel that he had the 'Seeing Eye' as Professor Trelawney had raved about in her class. He considered this as he placed the small obsidian mirror before him. Where Trelawney preferred the classic quartz ball for her stone gazing, Draco had discovered that it was in the inky depths of obsidian that his mind was the clearest. The mirror before him was legendary. It had once belonged to a Dr Dee, an alchemist once hired by Elizabeth I to divine her future for her. Dee was from the Trelawney clan and had enjoyed using his talents to aid muggles.
There was a time that that very thought would disgust Draco. A pureblood wizard who enjoyed muggles and their presence. Blood traitors had been sneered upon by the Malfoy family for generations, but times change. Draco owed his life and that of his family to a muggle born witch, a half blood wizard, and their pure blooded friend. He'd seen them earlier at King's Cross as he and Astoria went to bid their son farewell on his first trip to Hogwarts. Scorpius' well being is why Draco had withdrawn to his study that evening.
Lighting a red candle, Draco closed his eyes and took a few moment to clear his mind. He envisioned his question in his mind and gazed into the glassy black depths of the mirror. After a minute or two, he saw Scorpius, happy and surrounded by friends. The friends he noticed had a lot of red hair between them. Draco saw Scorpius grow into a confident young man at school, excelling in his studies and anything else he attempted. He saw the flame haired flower that Scorpius would swear to protect with his life and love with his entire being. Draco saw Malfoy children with fiery red hair as they raced around in an orchard near a peculiar tower of an old home.
Times change, Draco reminded himself as he extinguished the candle. Draco accepted this and felt a strange burning on his arm. His dark mark, he thought with a hint of panic as he jerked his sleeve up. He looked at the mark as it swirled and convulsed on his pale skin. The burning sensation wasn't painful and Draco stared in awe as it began to fade away. Acceptance had destroyed the evil brand in his flesh. Draco leaned back and contemplated his arm in the dim moonlight filtering through the window. He took a deep breath and decided to turn in for the night. A letter arrived later that week from Scorpius. Draco smiled softly as Astoria read aloud their son's ravings about his new friends Albus and Rose and their huge family.
FIN
Onyx
George raised an eyebrow at his twin who was messing with the till. They would open their dream the following day. Fred finally decided on a spot inside the till to place the small white onyx frog he'd found at one of the stalls in the Alley. Almost reverently he placed the stone frog in the small compartment at the back of the till.
"You really believe what that old codger told you about that thing being lucky?" George asked.
"Absolutely!" Fred grinned. "And it isn't lucky so much as it draws money towards it," he added with a waggle of his eyebrows.
George rolled his eyes. "C'mon Gred, we have an early start tomorrow," he said as he switched off the lights and headed for the stairs leading up to their flat.
"Just you watch Forge," Fred smirked as he followed his brother. "That till will be bursting before lunch tomorrow."
"Yeah right mate," George snorted.
Fred narrowed his eyes. "Bet ya on it. Loser does the chores for a month."
George grinned. "You are so on," he replied turning to shake on the bet.
"Missed a bit," Fred taunted a few evenings later as he lounged back and watched George working on the kitchen floor.
"Shut up," George muttered as he waved his wand and directed the mop to the bit he'd missed.
FIN