Harry and Hermione did not come in off the roof until nearly lunch the next day. When they did appear, it was to grab a couple sandwiches only to disappear into the house again. This patter continued for a few days, appear to grab some food and disappear into the house. Looking as hard as they could, Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley could not find either of them. Sirius refused to look, claiming that Harry needed to have some time to his self. When Remus started to off, it was only Sirius' pointy elbow and even pointier glare that stopped him from finishing the offer. After not being able to find either of the sandwich ninjas for a couple of days, Mrs. Weasley tried to order Kreacher to find them for her. He refused to so, claiming it was because Molly was a blood traitor. The real reasons though were because Sirius had ordered him not and that Harry and Hermione were actually nice to Kreacher. While they did things for themselves, they also left some things for the elderly House-elf to do. Plus, Harry was the heir to the Black fortune, so if he did not want to be found then he would not be.

It was Fred and George that ended up finding Harry and Hermione. The Twins found them when Fred stumbled up a guest room in the attic that had yet to be cleaned. Thinking it would be a good place to plan and test new products, George quickly grabbed their supplies and the two dove into the room before their mom (or siblings) could find them.

As they took a step away from the door, Fred realized the room wasn't as empty as originally thought. They heard some murmuring as they walked out of the sitting area and into the bedroom proper. When they stepped around the armoire that blocked the view of the bed, the Twins heard a most interesting conversation.

"…Lumberjack song is funny, I still prefer their Philosophers one more. Probably for the educational reasons," Hermione said. "Now which skit do you prefer?"

"Hmmm, that is a tough one. They had some really good ones. Especially the Ministry of Silly walks. Though I will have to say the Four Yorkshire men is a favorite. Out of their movies though, I refuse to choose a favorite. What about you?" Harry answered.

"That is easy. 'Life of Brian' or 'Holy Grail' because- Oh, hi guys." Hermione said.

"Hi/Hi," the Twins waved when spotted.

"What are you two up to today?" Fred and George switched off asking.

"Not much," Harry answered. "Hey Hermione, if you think they're funny to watch normally, you should try upside down."

Laughing, Hermione flipped over onto her back hanging her head over the edge of the bed. "What about you two? What are you guys up to?"

"Um…not much. Just trying to find somewhere to test pranks without Mum hearing," Fred and George replied, volleying words back and forth.

"Really?" Harry said. "What is this one?" He asked as he flipped onto his belly and pulled out a laser pointer for Crookshanks to chase.

"Different kind of Canary Creams?" Hermione asked as she stole the pointer from Harry and tried to see if 'Shanks could climb walls.

"Nah," Fred answered.

"Fake wands," George explained while not explaining.

"Really? Cool," Harry said.

"What do they do?" Hermione asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out. We know that we want something funny-"

"-But we don't know what exactly. The idea is that the wand looks-"

"-Like a real wand, but once you wave it, it changes. We-"

"-Just don't know what to change the wand into. You-"

"-Two have any ideas?" Fred and George explained in their tennis match speech.

"Well

-You could

-always do

-light-sabers or

-plastic swords

-even Nerf guns. But we thinks the-best idea-would be-rubber chickens." Harry and Hermione volleyed back and forth finishing their thought together. (Hey, what is good for the Twins can be pulled off better by the Sandwich Ninjas.)

"Okay. A couple of things.

"-One, if that is how we

"-look and sound when

"-we talk

"Cool" Fred and George finished saying together.

"Two, what is a light-saber or Nerf gun? We've heard of a rubber chicken just not the others." They said.

"Oh dear," Hermione said.

"We really need to get you to a Muggle toy store." Harry said. Grabbing Hermione's wrist and glancing at her watch, he said, "Meet us at the front door in thirty minutes and do not wear anything too magical. Plus, you have to provide the distraction."

With a nod of acknowledgement, the foursome split to their rooms to prepare for their rendezvous at the front door. Hermione went to make a shopping list while the twins plotted the distraction. Harry though had his own mission. He had an idea of what Sirius was going through constantly locked inside a house he did not want to be in. And knowing how much he loved pranks, Harry had a prank he wanted to get Sirius' help on. The four kids (or Marauders-in-training as Sirius called them) were going to sneak out. Sirius' part of the plan, at least that Harry hoped, was join them as Padfoot. Not the most ideal arrangement, but it would get Sirius out for a little while.

Once Sirius heard the plan, he was all for it. He was so willing to get out of Grimmauld Place that if Harry had asked him to transfigure himself into a French Poodle with the bows and perfume, Sirius would have only asked for the color of bows required. Though if he had been asked to change into a Chihuahua, Sirius would have been required to hex Harry.

Thirty minutes later found the four teens and one wolfhound at the front door. Before the distraction could be implemented Hermione first had to fix what the twins were wearing.

"Fred, no. Absolutely not and no way in Hell. You will not be leaving this house wearing a neon orange dragon hide suit. You too George, no neon dragon hide suits. You can keep the shirts on, but go put some jeans and trainers on. And grab a hoodie like Harry's. We want to blend in, not stand out.

"As for you Paddy, I am sorry but you need a collar and leash. When we get to our destination, I'm going to put a vest on you so you can go in with us." Hermione said.

When the twins returned, this time properly attired for Muggle London, it was their turn to throw a spanner in the works.

"We tried, we really did, but we couldn't think of any distraction that did not lead right back to us. Sorry," Fred explained.

"That's fine," Harry said. "I have a back up plan. No one says a word; just let me do all the talking.

"Lady Black, may I have a moment of your time? I have a small arrangement I would like to make with you…Thank you Ma'am. I know how your portrait was hung and I have the means to remove it. But I won't at this time if you do something for me. Create a distraction that will get everyone away from the front hall long enough for us to leave and get back in later." Harry said.

"Why should I you dirty half-blood?" Lady Black bit out.

"Because I am willing to burn your portrait. And because I am the heir to this house. I am assuming you would like to see your home returned to its former glamour at some point in the near future?" Harry said.

Her glare turning into a smirk, Lady Black said, "Are you sure you are not a Slytherin? You have a deal. I will give you five minutes to get out. I'll even give you three hours before I create a distraction again to get you back in."

With a shallow bow of thanks, Harry turned towards his cohorts to see looks of awe on their faces. A shrug of shoulders explained perfectly what Harry was thinking. It was Lady Belladonna Black's home; therefore he was treating it and her with respect. Besides, being a little sneaky got him what they needed.

A tap on the portrait frame and Lady Black commenced the distraction from her portrait in the study down the hall from the kitchen. As everyone rushed to try and quiet her, Harry and his cohorts snuck out and headed towards the local shopping center down the street.

Padfoot ran around the foursome acting like a puppy. Yapping at any passing walker and lunging at the squirrels. (Never trust squirrels, they'll try to steal your sanity. At least that's what Padfoot thought.) As they reached the shopping mall, Harry pulled up short as Hermione put the aid-dog vest onto Padfoot.

"Paddy…Padfoot…SIRIUS!" Hermione yelled, lightly shaking Sirius to get his attention. "Now pay attention. You have to be on your best behavior or you will have to head back home. So…BEHAVE!"

Cocking his head to the side and tilting his ears forward, Sirius gave a woof of confusion. Apparently he did not understand what Hermione meant.

Chuckling, Harry crouched down and scratched Padfoot's chest. "I think she means less Labrador puppy and more French Poodle attitude," Harry explained.

With a bark of understanding and a lick of the hand all around, the four teenagers and one wolfhound set off for the mall and toy store within.

AN: Don't own and kind of happy that it's that way. Not owning means I get to treat the characters like an Aunt, fill them full of sugar and return 'em to their parents right before the sugar high. Thank you to everyone that has reviewed. I really appreciate it; so much so in fact that everyone gets a plate of cookies just for themselves. I got a couple of reviews commenting on the melancholy of the last chapter. Sorry about that. (Not really.) I've been in that kind of a situation before and really did use some pretty macabre humor to get through it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next one. They're a bit of a two parter.