[1930 words (discounting this and the disclaimer/authors notes/titles)]
Disclaimer: Hypothetically, let's say that I was JK Rowling – why would I be writing fan fiction for people to read for free when I could just write an actual book and get millions from it?? Therefore I am NOT JK Rowling and I never will be!!
A/N: Hello all!! This is my ... umm ... third fan fiction that I have actually bothered to start – yay! Please review even if you hate it. If you are an author you know that 1) we live for and thrive from reviews and 2) reviews are the only way we can get better and that's the whole point of writing!! – That and the fun-ness of it :P Anyways.. on with the story
Evans' outside Privet Drive – Chapter 1
Two Times the Trouble
Moving is never easy, you leave behind everything and everyone you know and love, in full awareness that you may never see them again...
The sun shone through her window onto the piles of cardboard boxes that contained all her belongings. Piper sat on the bare mattress in the small, dusty room. The pale yellow paint on the walls was peeling and the equally worn and torn curtains were spraying dust at her in the wind. Stubbornly she wiped away a silent tear that was threatening to fall and turned her attention back to the numerous boxes that barely fit in her new bedroom.
She had just started to unpack and put away her clothes when one of the boxes exploded with a flash of bright light and began smoking. Her door opened, her brother standing in the doorway, doubled over laughing. Piper pulled open the box and retrieved the Zonko's product that was hidden amongst the clutter of books that were, once, neatly placed in the box. Piper threw the smoking disk that was now, itself, choking with laughter at her brother's head. It hit him and he stopped laughing instantly to glare at her. He grabbed the door handle and slammed the door shut, his smirk now replaced with a look of disgust.
Piper turned, cautiously, back to her unpacking and continued filling the old closet in the corner of her room. Once her room was rid of cardboard boxes and looked somewhat like it belonged in the twentieth century, she bounded downstairs to wait for the 'visitor' her mother had mentioned. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the doorbell rang and she hurried to answer it.
A man with a long, and in Piper's opinion oversized, silver beard stood, beaming in the doorway. He was wearing a purple, velvet 80's style suit and held in his hand an old tattered hat and an equally worn briefcase. Piper stood at the door speechless for about 20 seconds before coming to her senses and inviting the peculiar man inside. The man held out his hand to introduce himself, "My name is Albus Dumbledore," he said, smiling, "I believe you were expecting me? Piper nodded as her mother entered and greeted Dumbledore as though he were an old friend.
"Professor! How lovely to see you again, I trust everything is well at Hogwarts," Audrey Evans greeted the man with a hug, "Would you like some tea?" she asked as she bustled off to the kitchen, "I only have Earl Grey. Is that alright?" "Earl Grey would be lovely Audrey," Dumbledore replied chuckling. Piper's mother returned, two cups of tea following her, stirring themselves as they floated towards the table.
"In answer to your question before," Dumbledore spoke between sipping his tea, "Yes, everything at Hogwarts is very well indeed. Now, if you don't mind me asking, I was under the impression that there were two children to be enrolled."
In answer to this, Audrey flicked her wand and a yell came from upstairs as a boy with messy, bronze hair came zooming to his mother, "Why can't you just use your voice like a muggle mother? Is it really that necessary to use accio for everything?" Dumbledore smiled at the boy's reaction.
"Professor, this is my son, Sebastian. I see you have already met Piper," Audrey smiled as Sebastian sported a shocked look as he stared at Dumbledore's eccentric appearance. Sebastian took a seat at the breakfast bar, whilst Audrey joined Piper and Dumbledore at the dining table. "I'm sorry my husband isn't here to join us. He just began his new job today at Cambridge University. He should be home soon," Audrey looked at the clock as she said this.
As well as having a muggle clock, Audrey had a rather peculiar clock hanging, on the wall, below their ordinary one. It had eight hands and two faces, each hand with a name on it (four per face, two per person). Each face was unique, one was surrounded by places that people would be and the other was surrounded by words such as stress or happiness. The hands changed not by the hour, but by the feelings and whereabouts of the person named on the hand.
The clock suddenly spurred into life, William Evans' hands changing from work and stressed to home and anticipated. The fireplace in the next room emitted a cloud of smoke and soot, stepping out of it was Piper and Sebastian's father, dressed in a thick wizarding cloak and covered head to toe in grime from the dirty fireplace. He put down his briefcase and pulled his wand out of his cloak. He pointed it first at the fireplace and secondly at himself, both times muttering, "Scourgify."
The well-dressed wizard greeted Dumbledore with a handshake and then joined him at the dining table. Dumbledore began by explaining all about the Hogwarts' Express that would leave on September 1st at precisely 11am, with no exceptions, then continued on to say about each of the four houses: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin. He then placed the old hat in the centre of the table and it greeted each of the Evans' in turn.
Dumbledore looked at the hat expectedly for a moment before turning his attention to Piper, "It usually sings before the sorting, but I guess there is always an exception and this, of course, is no usual sorting."
"It was a long year with all the chamber business," the hat retorted, "I have quite a good song ready for the great feast but maybe now I will save it seeing you think I'm not as competent as you!" The hat huffed loudly before becoming silent once again.
"He seems a bit touchy," Dumbledore whispered to Piper. She giggled. "And now for the sorting," Dumbledore continued, retrieving the hat from the table. He placed the hat on Piper's head.
It sat there, silent, for a while, contemplating which house to place her in. "Very sharp this one," It commented out loud, to Piper's embarrassment, "I think... maybe... Ravenclaw would suit you well."
Piper thanked the hat and it bowed to her in a surprisingly human way. The hat was then placed on Sebastian's head. I remained quiet for only a few seconds before deciding on Slytherin. Sebastian smirked and left the room.
Dumbledore pulled out the Hogsmead permission forms when the phone rang. Audrey answered it, "Yes. Yes, of course. I'll be right there," she hung up, "I'm sorry. That was St Mungo's. They have multiple injuries from a death eater attack. They want me to help." She smiled apologetically at Dumbledore before apparating into London.
Two owls fluttered into the kitchen with Hogwarts letters for Sebastian and Piper. Piper took the letters and gave each of the owls a snack before watching them fly away. "Our book lists are here Dad!" Piper ripped the envelope open and read through the list.
"I
suggest you go to Diagon Alley to get everything you need," Said
Dumbledore.
Piper looked at her father, hoping he would take them
today. He knew what she wanted, "We'll have to go another day. I
can't take you; I have too much paperwork for the University."
"I'll take them," Dumbledore offered, "It will give you time to do your work and they will enjoy Diagon Alley. I know London well, I'll return them in time for tea and you can sign the Hogwarts papers when we return." William thought about this before nodding his approval. "The key for our Gringotts vault is on your mother's dresser," He said to Piper before calling Sebastian down and accioing the children's coats & scarves. He bid them farewell for the afternoon.
Dumbledore instructed for each of the children to grab his arm tightly. He apparated them all to Diagon Alley, Piper holding the booklist looking excited and Sebastian looking as though he was sucking on a particularly sour lemon. They let go of Dumbledore before following him down the brick road, past shops selling all sorts of wizarding objects.
Their first stop was Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Piper was fascinated by the goblins as they worked to retrieve the right amounts from the correct vaults. She handed one particularly short and scrawny goblin her key. He informed them that it was his first day working in the vaults and was very excited. They stopped at vault number 593 and both Sebastian and Piper were given a large bag of galleons. Piper thanked the goblin and they left the bank.
They entered a shop by the name of Flourish and Blotts. It was filled to the roof with books about everything imaginable. Piper handed the list to Dumbledore, he read out each book as she tracked down two copies of each. They left the shop, all three carrying large piles of packaged books in their arms.
Next they visited a small, cottage-like shop called Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. Both the children bought five sets of Hogwarts robes, each with their respective house crest on them. Sebastian was happy with his achievement of making Slytherin, and so smirked throughout the whole time Madame Malkin was fitting his robes.
Slug and Jiggers Apothecary indeed did smell like rotten cabbage, although neither Piper nor Sebastian had any potions ingredients for the upcoming year and so they endured it as they got the necessities: Essence of Belladonna, armadillo bile, asphodel, eye of newt and Sebastian bought a bezoar for the fun of it – much to Dumbledore's amusement.
Piper and Sebastian both had to leave their pets in France. Piper had a beautiful crimson phoenix called Wesley and Sebastian had a Tawny-Frogmouth Owl named Ringo Starr (He liked the Beatles). So they were in need of new animals. They headed to Eeylops Owl Emporium to search out pets. Sebastian immediately picked a barn owl that was perched out the front of the shop hooting loudly. Piper on the other hand was not as fond of owls as Sebastian was. She eyed out a fruit bat that was in the back corner of the shop sitting awkwardly out of place in the owl cage. The owl and the bat were put in cages (the fruit bat in a miniature owl's cage) and the trio left the shop with only one last place to visit.
Scribbulus Everchanging Inks was much like any muggle stationary store, except it sold quills and parchment instead of pen and paper. Piper chose some purple ink to go with her selection of red, blue, green, gold and black that were at home. She picked out some peacock, ostrich and phoenix feather quills to write with. Sebastian simply got green, black and silver ink and a similarly coloured hippogriff quill.
Once they had finished their shopping, Dumbledore led them to the Leaky Cauldron where he bought them both a butterbeer before apparating them back to their house.
William and Audrey Evans had both finished work when they apparated into the lounge room. The smell of pork and crackling was wafting in from the kitchen.
"Professor would you like to join us for tea?" Audrey asked him as he gathered up the signed Hogsmeade papers.
"Thank you, Audrey. I would be delighted," Dumbledore replied as his mouth watered at the smell of the roasting pork.
The Evans' and Dumbledore sat down for tea, the children telling their parents about Diagon Alley. Dumbledore left shortly after they were finished and the children were sent to pack their trunks for the next day (which happened to be September 1st).
A/N: Thanks for reading. Please review – I will love you forever if you do!! :P The next chapter takes place mainly on the train and talks a lot about Sirius Black (its during POA remember!) . Hope you liked it so far!!
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