Chapter 2
"So this bus…" Harry said, quickly changing the subject, "Did you say that it goes anywhere?"
"That's right!" Stan said proudly. "Anywhere you like, long as it's on land. Can't do anythin' underwater." Stan then looked over at Harry suspiciously again, "You did flag us down, didn't ya? Stuck out your wand, didn't ya?" he asked Harry.
"Yes." Harry replied quickly. "Listen, how much would it be in order to get to London?" he asked.
"Eleven Sickles." Stan answered him, then added, "But, for firteen, we give you hot chocolate, and for fifteen you get a hot water bottle and a toothbrush in the color of your choice." he informed.
Harry then quickly shuffled through his trunk and took out his money bag. He opened the bag and shoved some silver coins into Stan's hand. Then, he and Stan lifted up Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage and climbed their way into the bus.
Instead of seats, half a dozen brass beds were placed inside the bus, beside the curtained windows. Candles were lit on each bedside and a tiny wizard in a nightcap slept in one of the beds, muttering to himself in his sleep.
"This one is yours." Stan whispered to Harry as he shoved Harry's trunk under the bed right behind the driver's seat. "This is our driver, Ernie Prang. Ern, this is Neville Longbottom." Stan said as he introduced Harry to the elderly driver who was sitting in an armchair behind the steering wheel. Harry nervously flattened his hair over his forehead again to make sure that his scar was covered properly as the driver looked at him through the thick glasses and nodded his head in greeting.
"Take it away, Ern!" Stan said as he sat down in the armchair next to Ernie's.
Harry heard another loud BANG and was suddenly thrown back onto his bed as the bus sped through the dark streets. Stan looked amused by Harry's shocked expression as Harry watched the streetlights flash by outside the windows.
"We are somewhere in Wales, right Ern? This is where we were before you flagged us down." Stan said to Harry. Ernie nodded his head in agreement.
"How come the Muggles don't hear or see the bus?" Harry asked curiously.
enger who's stop was coming up. Harry stared nervously out the window as he watched Ernie's reckless driving. He didn't seem to have full control of the steering wheel, considering the wheels of the Knight Bus kept going on the pavement. Harry watched as lamp posts, mailboxes and trash can magically jumped out of the bus's path and went back to their original places once it had passed. Stan came back d
"The Muggles?" Stan said, then laughed, "They don't see nuffink, do they? Never listen or look properly." he said.
A few minutes later, Stan went up the stairs in order to wake a passenger downstairs, a couple moments later, a sleepy and slightly green witch in a traveling cloak following him to the door.
"'Ere you are Madam!" Stan said happily as Ernie slammed on the breaks and the beds slid forwards. The witch looked like she was about to vomit as she stumbled out of the bus, Stan throwing her luggage out behind her before slamming the door shut. Within seconds, the bus has started moving again with another loud sound.
Harry felt himself getting sick as the bus sped through the small country road. As the trees jumped out of the Knight Bus's path, Harry started to wonder if the Dursleys had managed to get Aunt Marge off the ceiling yet.
By now, Stan had unfolded a copy of the Daily Prophet and was reading it and Harry glanced at the front page. The front showed a picture of a sunken-faced man with dirty and matted hair, staring back at Harry.
"I've seen that man on the Muggle news!" Harry said in realization as he stared at the picture.
Stan curiously turned the paper over and chuckled as he saw the picture. "Sirius Black." Stan said, nodding his head. ""Course he would be in the Muggle News, Neville." Stan said, with a superior look on his face. When he saw the blank look that Harry gave him, he removed the front page and handed it over to Harry. "You ought to read the paper more often, Neville." he added.
In the candlelight, Harry held up the paper so that it was easier to read. The article talked about how the Ministry of Magic was still on the lookout for Sirius and trying to recapture him. It mentioned that the Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, had also informed the Muggle Prime Minister about Black. Also, finally, it mentioned the fact that twelve years ago, Sirius Black had openly murdered thirteen people in a row using only one curse.
After Harry read the entire article, he stared at sunken face in the picture. The dark, shadowed eyes the only part of it that seemed alive. Harry looked at the face and wondered if this was what actual vampires looked like, with the white skin and waxy face, Sirius Black could have easily passed as one.
"Looks scary don't he?" Stan said to Harry once he saw that Harry had read the entire thing.
"He murdered thirteen people with one curse?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"Yep." Stan answered. "And in front of witnesses too. Out in the open. Caused some big trouble, right Ern?" he added.
"Ar." Ernie answered darkly.
Stan turned back to Harry and said, "Black was a big supporter of You - Know - Who."
"What? Voldemort?" Harry asked quickly, before realizing what he had said.
Ern suddenly jerked the steering wheel so hard that the bus swiveled and nearly crashed into a farmhouse if the house hadn't jumped out of the way. Stan's entire face drained of all color as Harry said the name.
"What choo say his name for?" Stan yelped, "Are you outta your mind or somethin'?"
"Sorry - Sorry I forgot." Harry said quickly. "So Black supported You - Know - Who?" Harry added quickly.
"Yeah." Stan said, clutching his chest and trying to get his heartbeat to go at a normal pace. "Yeah, very close to him too, they say. Anyway, when little Harry Potter took down You - Know - Who, all of You - Know - Who's supporters was tracked down. Most of 'em came quietly, knowing that it was all over with You - Know - Who gone. But not Black. Someone said tha' he though' he was gonna be Second - in - command once You - Know - Who had taken over. But in the end, when they had cornered Black i a street full of Muggles, Black took out his wand and blasted the entire street, a wizard got it and so did about a dozen Muggles. Horrible innit? And then do you know what Black did?" Stan said.
"What?" Harry asked.
"He laughed." Stan said, "Just stood there and laughed. He's mental. inne Ern? When the reinforcements from the Ministry arrived, he went with 'em quietly, but was still laughin' his 'ead off."
"If he weren't mad when he went to Azkaban, he will be now." Ernie said, slowly. "I blow meself up rather than go to that place. But it serves him right after what he did."
"An' now he's out." Stan added, "Don't know how he did it though, nobody's escaped from Azkaban before. I don't fancy his chances against those guard of Azkaban though." he said and shuddered along with Ernie.
"Talk about something else, Stan." Ernie suddenly said. "The Azkaban guards freak everyone out." he said.
Stan reluctantly put down the paper and everything was quiet for a few moments as they all thought of something else to talk about. Eventually, Stan started to ask Harry if he had heard of how Harry Potter had blown up his aunt, and how they thought that he had come on the Knight Bus, trying to make a run for it. Harry's mind wandered into his thoughts as he thought about the fact that he had broken a wizard law, just like Sirius Black. Harry never knew much about the wizard prison, but the way that people talked about it, he assumed that it was a very fearful. He wondered if what he did to Aunt Marge would be bad enough to get him sent to Azkaban.
The bus sped through the darkness of the night, making bushes, lights, trees and telephone boxes jump out of the way as it drove past. Harry laid miserably on his bed as he heard Stan ramble on about how "Harry" had paid for hot chocolate but spilled it all over himself. Slowly but surely, all the witches and wizards on the bus began to leave, clad in dressing gowns and slippers. All of them looked very happy and relieved to finally get off the bus. This continued on until Harry was the only passenger left on the bus. Stan asked him where in London he wanted to go and Harry replied, saying he wanted to go to Diagon Alley. Off they set, heading towards Diagon Alley.
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(To the Lockhart siblings):
The Lockhart siblings all lay awake inside their fort in Fred and George's room. The kids had all been sent to bed quite a while ago, considering how late it was, but the siblings still had a bad case of jet lag. Lena laid, curled up in a blanket, her hair sprawled out around her and her eyes clenched shut, trying to convince herself to sleep, until she finally gave up. With a heavy sigh, she threw her blanket off and got up crawling out of the fort.
Where are you going, L? Calla's voice rang in her mind when she felt her sister move.
I thought that maybe I could find something to do since I can't sleep. Lena replied as she walked quietly across the dark room to the window. She heard faint rustling behind her, then light footsteps. She looked over her shoulder and saw her siblings, all wide awake and crawling out of the fort.
Well, let's all do something together, then. Evie said in their minds.
They all decided to go outside for a little while, thinking maybe the fresh air would let them finally sleep. So, they silently opened their trunks and took out something light to wear in case it got cold, they grabbed a large blanket from inside the fort and silently tiptoed out of the room where the two snoring, red-headed twins slept.
The made sure that nobody was downstairs, then walked quietly through the house and out the back door. Ethan and Evie held onto Orion, Hercules, Ren and Eleanor as Lena and Calla set the blanket up on the the ground to lay on top of. Lena shoved her arms inside the long sleeves of her oversized dark purple sweatshirt as the slightly cold breeze whistled past them. They stood there for a few moments, just looking out over the dew-covered grass sparkling under the moonlight.
"Some stargazing never hurt anyone." Calla said, smiling at her siblings as they all laid back down on the blanket and stared up at the sky. Ren and Eleanor curled up close to Lena and Calla's heads and fell instantly asleep. Ethan and Evie lay on either side of Lena and Calla, curled into their sides as Orion and Hercules lay at their feet.
"Which one is Orion again?" Ethan asked his sisters as his eyes scanned the stars in the sky.
Lena chuckled as she and Calla pointed simultaneously up into the cloudless sky. "That one, see? Those three stars make up Orion's belt." she said to him. Ethan followed her gaze up and saw three stars lined up close to the horizon.
"Oh! That's right! Look Orion, it's your constellation!" Ethan said excitedly to his arctic fox, pointing up at the constellation that Lena had pointed to.
Calla and Lena chuckled as they watched their brother's childishness. "And I'm pretty sure, that's the North Star, right L?" Calla said gesturing towards the brightest star in the sky.
Lena nodded her head as she stared at the stars. "Yeah, that's the North Star. The brightest star in the night sky. They say that if you are ever lost, all you need to do is follow that star and you will eventually find something." she replied. She smiled brightly, the four of them scanning sky for any more familiar constellations or anything out of the ordinary.
They stayed like that for a while, pointing out constellations and staring at the smalls wisps of clouds that moved along. Sometimes the clouds blocked the moon and left them in near darkness except the starlight for a just a few seconds. when it got close to sunrise and the dark blue in the sky gave way to the soft pinks and oranges, the four siblings found themselves fast asleep. They were all curled up together, small smiles playing at their lips as the light breezes flew past and the birds chirped soft songs in the surrounding trees.
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Hours later, Fred and George Weasley finally awakened from their slumbers, sitting up groggily in their beds.
"Morning Georgie…" Fred said with a yawn.
"Morning Freddie." George replied as he rubbed his sleepily.
They both then turned to the fort, "Morning guy-" they both started but cut off when they realized that nobody was actually inside the fort. They looked at each other and shrugged, assuming that the Lockhart siblings must have already gotten up and went downstairs.
"Morning Mum." They said in unison as they sleepily walked into the kitchen, and found their mom preparing dinner.
Mrs. Weasley glanced over her shoulder and smiled at her sons, "Good morning boys. Have a seat, breakfast is almost ready. Are Lena, Calla, Evie and Ethan still asleep?" she asked them.
Fred and George gave her confused looks. "You mean they haven't come downstairs?" George asked her.
"They aren't in the room." Fred added to her.
Mrs. Weasley met their look with a puzzled expression, "Well, where else could they have gone? Have you two checked outside, because they have not been downstairs since I have been down." she answered them. Fred and George exchanged a questioning look and stood up, going towards the door to check outside. They stepped out and looked around in the morning sun, quickly spotting the blanket that held the Lockhart siblings. They chuckled as they spotted their friends, sound asleep on top of the blanket.
"Found them, Mum." Fred and George called back into the kitchen and stepped down the porch and towards their sleeping friends. Once they reached the Lockhart siblings, they stopped and stared down from the top of the blanket, near their heads. Bright, brotherly smiles grazed their lips and they looked down at the four siblings.
"You know George, they look so peaceful when they sleep like this." Fred said, a smirk now replacing the smile.
"Oh yes they do Fred, would be a shame for them to be startled awake." George added with a mischievous smirk crossing his own lips. The pair raced back into the house, quickly grabbing a glass of water each before racing outside again, leaving their mother to stare behind them in confusion. They chuckled lightly as they snuck over to the Lockharts again and stood over them.
In the next few seconds, quite a few things happened all at once. Fred and George simultaneously poured the glasses of water onto the four.
Lena, Calla and Evie shrieked as the four of them bolted upright when the cold water made contact with them. Fred and George ran away while laughing and chuckling, quickly followed by Lena and Calla. Ethan and Evie pouted and yawned, slowly rubbing their eyes as they scrambled to their feet and trudged their way to the entrance to the Burrow, leaving their older sisters to deal with the twins.
…..
"WAS THAT ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!" Lena shouted as she and Calla ran around outside the Burrow, quickly catching up with the boys. Calla had picked up some little rocks and was currently pelting both boys with them as they ran. Fred looked back at her, an obvious smile on his lips. Calla stuck her tongue out at him childishly and he chuckled.
Somehow, Lena had caught up so close to George and had tackled him to the ground, him letting out an exasperated Oomph! as he hit the ground. Fred stopped running abruptly to look down at the two, causing Calla to bump lightly into his back. He chuckled and wrapped his hand around her arm, squeezing it lightly before letting go.
"Well done, L," Fred said, reaching out a hand to Lena to help her up, which she took willingly. George mumbled something with his face in the grass.
"Sorry, didn't quite catch that Georgie," Calla said, looking quizzically at the boy in question. He lifted his face from the ground and looked up at her, spitting out grass. Fred chuckled.
"Let's get you two back inside," Fred said before George could utter a word. He lowered himself so that Calla could get onto his back and held her tightly against him, so she wouldn't fall. George got up and wiped off some grass from his pants. He let Lena get onto his back and they all started to laugh as they went back to the Burrow.
…..
(Back in the Burrow)
"Good Morning dears! Oh goodness, what happened to you?" Mrs Weasley said as they entered the kitchen where the rest of the family now sat around the dinner table.
"Fred and George thought it would be a good idea to wake us up by dumping some glasses of water on us…" Ethan replied with a pout and sat down in his chair.
Mrs. Weasley sighed and shook her head, "Well, where are they now?" she asked Ethan and Evie, summoning some towels for them.
"Being chased around the house by Lena and Calla." Evie replied as she wrapped the warm and fluffy towel around her shoulders.
Seconds later, the back door opened and Fred and George walked into the kitchen, laughing and carrying Lena and Calla on their backs.
"Boys! Was that really necessary in order to wake them up?" Mrs. Weasley scolds. Fred and George set the girls down in some chair and Mrs. Weasley wrapped some warm and fluffy towels around them.
"Sorry Mum, we just thought it would make them laugh." the twins said, causing the girls to huff and pout.
"Well it wasn't that funny." Lena said as she secured the towel around her shoulders and braided her long, wet hair.
"Anyway, can we please have breakfast now?" Ethan asked Mrs. Weasley hopefully.
Mrs. Weasley chuckled, "Of course dear." she answered as she began placing eggs, toast, pancakes and other things on the dining table, the room filling with mouthwatering smells from the steaming food. "What do you kids plan on doing today?" Mrs. Weasley asked the everyone as they all enjoyed the breakfast.
Fred and George shrugged, "Not sure yet, Mum. There isn't really much we haven't already done with these guys." George answered.
Mrs. Weasley blinked, "Well if you all have nothing to do today, why don't you just go to the near-by village. Just walk around there for a little while and look around." she suggested.
"But we've been to the village dozens of times! We've seen everything." Fred reminded her.
"Oh hush, Lena, Calla, Ethan and Evie have not been there. Take them and show them around for a little while." Mrs. Weasley countered.
"I think it's a great idea." Lena and Calla added, their faces brightening at the thought of going to explore another place.
Fred and George looked at each other and sighed, "Fine, we'll take you girls there, but-" Fred started,
"There isn't really that much to see in the village to be honest, it is very small." George finished. Lena and Calla shrugged.
"Doesn't matter to us! At least we'll get to visit a new place!" Calla said.
"Do you two want to come with us?" Lena asked Ethan and Evie but they just shook their heads.
"I'm still sleepy so I'm just going to take a nap." Evie said and Ethan nodded his head.
"Alright. Just don't mess up your sleeping more than the jetlag already has." Lena said with a small smile on her face.
After breakfast was over and the girls had helped Mrs. Weasley clean up the kitchen, Lena, Calla, Evie and Ethan went up to the twins' room so Lena and Calla could get ready. Ethan crawled into the fort and started playing on his DS while talking to his sister while they got ready. Lena and Calla looked through their trunk as they sat on the floor, deciding what to wear.
"What do you think we should wear, Cal?" Lena asked while riffling through her clothes.
Calla shrugged "I'm not sure. Let's just wear something comfortable that we can walk around a lot in." she suggested. Lena nodded and both of them went back to looking through their trunks, occasionally taking something out and showing the other person and Evie, who was sitting on the windowsill and swinging her feet back and forth as she watched her sisters.
After a few more minutes later, the Lockhart siblings heard a knock on the door. "Are you lot done yet, we should leave sometime this century you know." Fred said from the other side of the door.
Calla rolled her eyes, "Give us a minute, we're almost done." she shouted from inside, causing Lena to shake her head and chuckle and she fixed her sleeves.
Lena wore a pair of jeans along with with a navy blue shirt with a long, black cardigan over it, her hair was tied back in a messy french braid with a few strands framing her and her bangs loosely tucked behind her ear. The silver bracelet that Draco had given her last year hung from her wrist as she balance on one foot, attempting to get her combat boots on without falling over. Calla wore a white tank top with a long, forest green cardigan and a pair of black tights, hair tied back in a ponytail. Her lily necklace hung from her neck as usual and she wore a pair of sneakers on her feet.
Evie looked at her sisters and nodded in approval, then eyed the bracelet and necklace. "You know, it seems like you two never take those things off." Evie said teasingly, gesturing towards Lena's bracelet and Calla's necklace. Her statement caused a flush of pink to creep up on said girls' cheeks and a muffled chuckle from Ethan.
"Thats right guys. Why exactly are those two things so special to you two?' Ethan added, crawling out of the fort and giving his sisters a full view of the smirk that was on his face as he raised an eyebrow at Lena and Calla.
Just then, their conversation was interrupted by another knock from the door, causing the girls' cheeks to darken and Ethan and Evie to laugh.
"Oh shush you." Lena said and playfully shoved Ethan's shoulder on her way to open the door, making him laugh harder. She opened the door and stepped aside as Fred and George walked into the room.
"You two finally ready?' Fred asked them, looking at the four siblings.
"Yeah, we can go now." Calla confirmed.
"Wait, why are you two laughing?" George asked Ethan and Evie in confusion. The rosiness on Lena and Calla's faces became more prominent then before as they quickly grabbed Fred and George's arms and rushed out of the room before Ethan and Evie could answer.
"Nothing! It was nothing!" Calls said quickly, holding tightly to Fred's arms as running through the hall.
"We'll be back later you two! Have fun at the house." Lena called over her shoulder, following closely behind Calla with a tight grip on George's arm.
Sorry it's been so long since our last chapter! School has been stressful for the both of us but we're both finally on break now! Lena is just in an area where it's hard to get at Internet, so it'll just be me for a bit. Hope you don't mind. Hope you guys are enjoying the series so far!
Sincerely,
Miss Calla Lockhart