AN: hey hi! I know that I haven't updated in like two weeks, but I have an excuse. I don't own a laptop, and writing on my phone is irritating. I use my dad's laptop, but her needed it for a workshop all week. He gets off work at three something or other, but I had VBS the whole week from four till eight. When I get home I eat dinner, and my parents insist on me being in bed by ten. So here it is! Voila!

Hermione Granger was many things. Meticulous was one of them. she noticed the tiny details. Like the fact that her parents didn't call themselves by their first names the whole trip to the farmers market. Or the fact that she so readily agreed to return the bracelet. And the wand. If she was really a penniless street rat whose parents were Deatheaters, why didn't she keep the wand for herself? And why did none of the Weasleys or Hermione know about a Deatheater family's house being burned down? There was something fishy about "Megan Bruce." And Hermione wanted to figure it out. but she currently had another problem on her hands. She hadn't heard from Alexandra in a couple of weeks, and was getting nervous. That was why they were in London. She was going to go to Alexandra's house. The Weasleys were not sure how to act like muggles, so she was going by herself. The Weasleys were waiting by the muggle entrance to the ministry. There was a park near there, and they were going to spend the day there. Shuddering slightly, she forgot that her denim jacket was in her bag, Hermione rang the doorbell of number four. A skinny woman with brown hair in a bun, a long neck, and was wearing a green, skin tight, strappy dress with hideous daisies on it. Hermione forced a smile.

"Hello. You must be Mrs. Dursley. May I come in?" she asked politely. Petunia beamed at her.

"Of course. Aren't you just darling." Petunia moved out of the way and ushered Hermione into the sitting room.

"I'm assuming that you're here to see my little Dudley?" she asked. Hermione shook her head.

"Actually I'm here to see you. I just moved and heard that another girl my age lives here." She lied. Petunia looked shocked.

"I don't know where you heard that. I'm the only girl living here." She answered honestly. Hermione frowned.

"Really? I could have sworn they said that Alexandra Potter lived here. Anyway can I have a tour of your house? Sorry that was rude." Hermione muttered. Petunia looked delighted.

"Of course. But may I ask why?"
"I heard the neighbors talking about how… beautiful and…uh… well-kept your house is." Petunia nodded enthusiastically.

"All very true things. Come." And she proceeded to show Hermione the kitchen and the living room. When they arrived at the cupboard under the stairs, Hermione peered at it suspiciously. If they Dursleys were cruel enough to lock Alexandra in her bedroom, who knows what they would do. Alexandra never said anything about being kept in a closet, but then why was there a lock?

"What's in there?" Hermione asked pointing to the cupboard. Petunia sniffed with disdain before answering.

"Cleaning supplies. It's horribly dusty." She opened the door to show Hermione. Petunia wasn't lying. It was horribly dusty and full of mops, brooms, buckets, and other such stuff. Petunia continued her tour by starting up the stairs. The first bedroom at the top had no door. Petunia noticed Hermione staring at it.

"We used to use it as a storage room, but we decided to redo it. It's going to be an in-law suite for Vernon's parents."

Inside the room the room that Hermione knew to be Alexandra's, was an empty wardrobe missing a door, a couple cans of paint, and a rolled up carpet against the wall.

Petunia showed her three more rooms, hers, a guest room that looked unused, and Dudley's room. When she was done, Hermione excused herself saying that she had promised that she would be home in time for tea. Running as soon as she was out of view of number four, Hermione headed for Tumbling Bay Park, a couple minutes' walk from the ministry entrance.

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Alexandra was blushing redder than her dyed hair as Hassan kneeled on one knee.

"Alexandra Lil-"

"Ahem." Hassan laughed.

"Fine. Andra Lily Potter, will you accept this promise ring?" she smiled.

"And what is it promising?"

"When we both turn eighteen, we'll still be there for each other. If we have a falling out and break up, which I hope never happens, we will still be friends. It's also my way of saying that I will wait for you. If you want to travel the world first, I will wait for you to return."

"Of course I'll accept Hassan. But this must've been expensive." Hassan just waved it off.

"Sense all of these jewels are knock-offs, it cost me sixty bucks. Don't worry, I only used the money I made from odd jobs and the S.S stand." Alexandra gasped.

"So that's why you suggested that!" Hassan had proposed the idea of doing lemonade/ bake goods stand during the summer on Saturdays and Sundays. That's why they called it the S.S stand. Alexandra wasn't surprised that Hassan had enough money for the ring once he told her the cost. They barely spent any of their money, only as much as they needed to. The rest was for special treats, and for a real house. Alexandra was shocked out of her thoughts by Hassan slipping the ring on her pointer finger, where a wedding ring goes. She blushed again as she looked at the ring. It was a simple silver band with an infinity sign on it. On one side of the infinity sign was pearls, and on the other was rubies. Their birth stones.

"Read the inscription." Said Hassan excitedly. She slipped the ring off her finger, and read the inside of the band. It said Forever and Always with the dates 6-27-93 and 7-31-98 engraved in tiny writing.

"That's really sweet Hassan. But why…June 27th, 1993? I get that the second one is when I turn eighteen, but why when you turned thirteen?" he chuckled.

"That was when I first met you. And trust me that was the best birthday present I ever got. Even better than the shark tooth necklace you got me this year." Alexandra slipped the ring back on her finger with a smile.

"Come on. I have to get down to the park and start selling some lemonade." On weekends they sold stuff at Tumbling Bay Park. Alexandra was rather good a sewing, so sometimes she would go to thrift stores or yard sales and by large men's shirts and turn them into dresses. It was much cheaper than buying a dress at a yard sale or thrift shop. Alexandra was wearing one she had made out of an old sweater. It was an ugly sweater that only cost three bucks, and made a rather ugly dress. The dress was a black sundress with a scowling snowman on it. Not the most attractive thing, but it fit and that was what mattered. She had pulled her long red hair into a bun, then a ponytail, and back again. It was now in a long French braid. She found that doing her hair nervous habit of hers. She kissed Hassan on the cheek and climbed out through the window.

Arriving at the park saw the Weasleys. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were standing to the side and chatting lightly, the twins were using the swing as a table for a list of some kind, Ron was sitting dejectedly on the net much to the annoyance to little kids who were scrambling around him, and Ginny was hang upside down from the net and having a very one-sided conversation with Ron. Standing only feet away from the Weasley kids, was the lemonade stand. Lilith was wearing a blue dress with white sail boats made from an old shirt, and her messy hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Smeared across her face was a streak of dirt. Mallory was wearing a dress Alexandra had made out of an old bathing suit. The top was red and white strips with a black bird stitched on it and the bottom was all white tulle. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders in tangled waves that resembled pig tails. Light dirt was spread unevenly over her face, giving her the appearance that she had fell out of a fireplace. Cormac was wearing blue and white striped dress pants made out of an old dress shirt and a large grey hoodie. Some random guy had seen him begging with Lilith, and had gave it to him. He still had to grow into it, but almost never took it off. Even in the heat of the summer he wore it. His feet were dirty; they would have to find a fountain to step in later, and he had a cut that was bleeding freely on his cheek and a Band-Aid on his arm. The only one who looked normal was McKenzie. Alexandra had learned on her first day not to call her Nakusha. It meant unwanted and was given to a girl when the parents wanted a boy. Her hair was brushed and in a short bob, and she was wearing a light blue dress that Alexandra had made. She was surprised that McKenzie was even here. She worked as a hair stylist, manicurist, and a waitress. She was forever asking for more shifts. She, along with Suzette, were the only two to have short hair. Suzette buzzed all of hers off when winter started. Jogging over to join her family, Alexandra immediately un-zipped Cormac's jacket and forced him to take it off. He complained the whole time, but she insisted that it was too hot. It was summer, and not too unusual to see a shirtless boy.

"Hey stranger." She greeted McKenzie. She smiled.

"I guess that's true. How do I look?"

"Can't even tell you're homeless." Suddenly Mallory squealed. The Asho's and co looked over, distracted, and didn't see Hermione make her way over to the Weasleys.

"Hassan… umm. Urg! I don't know the word in English!" she exclaimed frustrated. Lilith rolled her eyes.

"Mallory, me and McKenzie-"

"McKenzie and I." interrupted Alexandra. Lilith rolled her eyes again.

"Whatever. McKenzie and I both speak Spanish. So just say it in Spanish." Mallory blushed.

"Propuesto!" she squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. McKenzie started fanning her face and Lilith gasped looking at the ring on Alexandra's finger. For the third time that day, Alexandra blushed to the roots of her hair. She didn't speak Spanish, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what the Asho girls thought had happened.

"He didn't technically propose." Alexandra protested. "It's just a promise ring. It's his way of saying that even if we break up we will still be friends, and when we turn eighteen he wants to propose for real."

"Well it's a beautiful ring Ally, that's for sure." Admired Lilith. Alexandra closed her eyes tightly, hoping against hope that the Weasleys didn't hear that.

"Lia!" snapped Alexandra. Lilith slapped a hand over her mouth and Mallory sighed. McKenzie however was confused.

"What's the big deal?" she asked. Alexandra stood on her toes to whisper in her ear.

"The family of redheads right there? I know them. The youngest boy is one of my best friends. His nick name for me is Ally. They don't know that I'm a street rat. As far as they know, I still live with my unc…Vernon." Alexandra explained. McKenzie nodded.

"Got it. My lips are sealed."

"Thanks Kenzie."

"And listen, living on the streets is nothing to be ashamed of. Maybe if you tell your friends they can help you." Alexandra sighed, wishing it was that simple.

"I'll think abou-"

"Are we sellen fa lemon drink or nah." Interrupted Cormac. Mallory giggled.

"Yep, we're selling 'fa lemon drink.'" McKenzie scowled.

"Mal, don't make fun of your brother!" she scolded.

"Let's make some moola!" everyone laughed again at Alexandra's proclamation, and Lilith's earlier slip-up was forgotten.

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Ron continued to nod along to whatever Ginny was gabbing about. Something was off about the girls and boy selling lemonade. They all looked related, and happy. A picture out of a magazine in their little dresses, with their eyes sparkling and their done up. But upon closer inspection, little details were off. Their faces were dirty, their hair looked unwashed. The eldest and the youngest girl were the only ones wearing shoes. Their dresses appeared handmade, and they were all very small. The eldest looked about a year or two older then him, the curly haired one looked abou thirteen. The youngest girl couldn't be much more than seven, and the boy looked about three. The boy in particular looked familiar. Suddenly a girl wearing a rather ugly dress ran up to the stand. She had long red hair pulled into a French braid, bright green eyes eerily similar to Alexandra, and was wearing black dress shoes like the ones with a Hogwarts uniform. She pulled the boy close to her, and took off his jacket to reveal pale skin and too many ribs for Ron's liking. A small scar on his stomach appeared out of place on such a small boy.

"Hey stranger." Greeted the redhead. The eldest smiled warmly at her.

"I guess that's true." She responded. He was confused. Did they not know each other? Was she simply busy? "How do I look?" Ron took a moment to survey her. Her dress was faded as though it had been overly washed, which was strange considering they looked as though they had never heard of cleaning, her hair was neat, her face clean, and she was wearing heals. They didn't really match, but they looked relatively nice.

"Can't even tell your homeless." Remarked the redhead. Ron's eyes widened. So that's where he had seen the boy. He was with the redhead at the farmers market. Suddenly the younger girl squealed causing her companies to look at her in alarm, along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Ginny.

"Boo." Hermione whispered in Ginny's ear, causing her to look at the brunette bemusedly.

"Um, why boo?" she asked, perplexed. Hermione sighed.

"It's a muggle thing. They use the word boo to scare people. And before you ask, no it doesn't work. But that's not important right now. I have to tell you something about Ale-"

"Hey Hermione?" interrupted Ron. "How old do you have to be to be engaged in the muggle world?"

"Traditionally, you have to be an adult, so eighteen in the muggle world. But if both sides of the couple have their parent's consent, you can get married way younger. But, in some cultures, like India, you have arranged marriages. Also, some years ago when people died at age thirty, it was common practice to-"

"Skip the history lesson. I was just wondering because that girl in the black dress has on an engagement ring. She has to be twelve, thirteen tops. Anyway what were you saying about Ally?" Hermione blinked, then shook her head.

"Yes, I was saying that Alexandra is missing! Her aunt acted like she had never heard of her!" Ron bit his lip.

"This is bad." He mumbled. Hermione sighed.

"Duh Ronald."

"Well it's a beautiful ring Ally, that's for sure." A carrying voice said from across the park.

Ron's head shot up at the same time Hermione scanned the occupants of the lemonade stand and Ginny gasped. The redhead, Ally, closed her eyes tightly, while the curly haired one slapped a hand over her own mouth. Doing a cursory glance in the Weasleys direction, she snapped out the name "Lia" as the youngest girl sighed. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny shared looks. Could the homeless redhead be Alexandra? They didn't know, but they intended to find their missing friend, whatever the stakes.