A/N: hey here is chapter 5! i hope you all enjoy it and please please review!
Disclaimer: if i was J.K. Rowling i would be re-writing the epilouge not doing freaking fanfiction!
Little Joshua giggled as he rolled around in his crib.
"Well someone's happy tonight aren't they?" Joshua looked to see his Dad standing in the door way. Joshua giggled and grabbed his feet, smiling.
"You aren't gonna get any sleep tonight are you?" His father asked as he made his way toward him. Joshua smiled and said something along the lines of "Aflagawa" in response.
His father chuckled as he scooped the young boy out of the crib, making him squeal in delight.
Cradling baby Joshua in his arms, Ron made his way to his bedroom. There on the bed sat his beautiful wife, Hermione, with a book propped open on her lap. She looked at her husband questioningly when he entered.
"Found him wide-awake in his room, giggling like mad, I figured he might as well enjoy our company while he's awake" Ron explained, grinning widely as he stood at the foot of the bed.
"Ron" she sighed in exasperation, "You have to let him sleep or he will get off schedule" she scolded.
Joshua frowned. Why were they talking, he wanted his Mum. "Aiwwaahia" he cried longingly, squirming in his father's grasp, reaching toward his mother with his tiny arms.
"Come on 'Mione, besides he missed you, look" his mother's face softened, and she reached out to take him, from his father.
Joshua giggled happily and pounded his tiny fists on the book in his mother's lap.
"Bahwalawa" he said cheerfully. His mother laughed at his antics and began to talk with his father while Joshua watched.
Joshua frowned, he wanted to talk too.
"Bahwaooc" he said loudly to get their attention.
"Bahwooc" he tried again. His parents looked on curiously.
"I think he's trying to talk" Ron said, Hermione shook her head.
"No, it can't be…. Infants aren't able to talk for a few more months"
"Bawooc" Joshua cried, he wanted to talk, he really did but he couldn't get the words to form. He tried again, and again, growing more desperate with each attempt. He wanted to talk.
"Bahwook"
"Bawook"
"Bwook"
"Book" Joshua grinned he did it.
"Book" he said again triumphantly, hitting the book in his mum's lap happily.
His parents looked at him in shock.
"His first word… he said his first word" Ron said a smile stretching slowly across his face. "He said his first word!" Ron gave a shout of joy, and scooped him out of his mother's lap. Joshua giggled again.
"Book!" he shouted happily. Ron laughed again and began to parade him around the room, rambling.
"Yes, yes book! That's my boy, his first word at five months! and what word does he choose? Hmm? Book! Aww yes, just like his mother this one!" Hermione laughed happily, as she watched her husband and son march around the room, yelling book, at the top of their lungs…..
Joshua woke with a start.
"Hey Joshua, you up yet?" Agent Jackson Riley called, banging on his door loudly.
"I'm up" he called back sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was in a room, a bedroom to be exact, in a shabby run-down bar called, what was it? The Malfunctioning Cauldron? Something like that.
The room itself was pretty cool; it had a large, impressive bed right in the middle, a chest of drawers and a mirror on one wall, and a fireplace on the other.
"C'mon Josh, rise and shine! You get dressed and I'll meet ya down stairs for breakfast" Riley called. Joshua heard him troop down the hall and shook his head smiling.
He then yawned, scratched his head and got dressed. Pulling on a pair of jeans, a green hoodie, and his beat-up converse he slumped down stairs.
Unlike last night, the pub was filled with people… strange people. Joshua flipped up his hood self-consciously, and began to wind his way through the crowd, toward Riley, who was sitting at a small table in the corner.
Riley grinned widely when Joshua sat down.
"How'd ya sleep?" he asked him, Joshua shrugged.
"Ok I guess"
Riley smiled, not deterred by Joshua's annoyance at being woken up.
"So I thought we'd get some breakfast at a muggle Café down the street and then go sight-seeing!" Riley squealed, looking excited.
"Oh… erm… yeah I would love to" Joshua said looking down awkwardly, "But, I thought…. I mean I hoped…. Erm….. My…uh….parents….." Joshua stammered.
Riley's smile dropped off his face.
"Oh, of course it's just there has been some…..uh…. issues" Riley said not meeting Joshua's eye's.
"What kind of issues?" Riley gulped and looked away.
"Well, you see…. It's like this… the problem is-oh screw it" Riley said "this morning I got a message from your parents, they have been called away for a mandatory emergency meeting, the Minister insisted and so they will be gone for the remainder of the week, so about three days" Riley said smiling sympathetically.
Joshua visibly deflated, his heart sinking. Did they really want to avoid him that badly?
"Oh….okay…..right" he said dejectedly.
"if it helps any, last I heard your mother was about 30 seconds away from killing the minister for calling her away" the corner of Joshua's lips twitched and Riley took that as a sign that he was feeling better.
"Well we better get going" Riley said clapping his hands together as he swept from the table.
"Come on slowpoke!" Riley called as he walked smartly out the door, leaving Joshua to run to catch up.
The week had actually been pretty fun; they went to the London eye, Natural History Museum, the Tower of London, also a bunch of shops and cafes that littered the streets of london.
Riley had told Joshua everything there was to know about the Wizarding world, except for his parents, if that subject got brought up he would just stutter and change the subject.
Every day after they were done exploring London, they would head back to the Leaky (not malfunctioning) Cauldron. Soon after dinner Riley would make Joshua go to bed.
The next morning Joshua woke (again) to Riley pounding at his door.
They both had pea soup for breakfast (as everything else on the menu either had the word house or leaky in it, neither sounded appetizing).
"so it is the end of our week of awesome" Riley said "Today were gonna head to Gringotts to finalize the paperwork with your uncle (who works there) and then you're gonna meet your parents kid"
Joshua gulped, nodded nervously and shoved another spoonful of soup in his mouth to avoid any questions about how he was feeling.
Riley led him through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can, and a few weeds.
Riley grinned at Joshua, whipped his wand from his pocket and started counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.
"Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back."
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his wand.
The brick he had touched quivered in the middle, a small hole appeared –it grew wider and wider– a second later they were facing an archway large enough for a giant, the archway led onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
"Welcome," said Riley, "to Diagon Alley."
He grinned at Joshua's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Joshua looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink itself back into a solid wall.
The sun glimmered on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons–All Sizes–Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver–Self-Stirring–Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.
"Cool huh?" Riley said "you're gonna need one for school, your parents will take you shopping later." the young boy nodded mutely.
Joshua couldn't get enough of this place. His head turned in every direction as he walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping.
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying –Eeylops Owl Emporium–Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy.
Several boys and girls about Joshua's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it (since when was sweeping fun?).
There were an entire array of strange, new, and amazing little shops that lined the street, Joshua could have looked at it all day.
"This is our stop," said Riley. "Gringotts."
They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the little shops. Standing behind its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was–
"That's a goblin," said Riley quietly as the two of them walked up the white stone steps toward him.
"Don't stare, its rude" Riley scolded, when he noticed Joshua staring open-mouthed.
He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, with words engraved on top.
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
"Only someone really stupid would try to rob this place" Riley muttered as they walked into the building. They were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones the size of baseballs through eyeglasses.
"Cool" Joshua breathed.
They made their way up to the counter.
"We are here to see Mr. Weasley" Riley told the goblin sitting there. The Goblin leaned over to sneer down at Joshua, who shrunk slightly under his gaze.
"Yes, and do you have an appointment" he said not taking his mean little eyes off Joshua.
Riley nodded happily and withdrew a piece of yellow paper from his pocket, handing it over to the Goblin, who snatched it from his hand and ran his eyes over it, looking for signs of forgery.
After a few moments the Goblin handed it back begrudgingly and waved them down a hall toward an impressive red oak door with a large brass doorknob. On the door was a plate of steel about halfway up that said: Bill Weasley.
Riley knocked confidently on the door while Joshua pulled his black beanie down farther over his ears.
"Come in" a voice called. Riley strutted into the room, Joshua trailing behind him.
It was a large impressive office, with red walls and a large desk in the middle where a middle aged man with flaming red hair sat scribbling with some kind of old fashioned feather pen. His face was riddled with scars but Joshua could see that he was handsome none the less.
Joshua stood behind Riley (ok so he was nervous about meeting his uncle! So what!).
Riley gave a small cough; the man finally looked up from his work and smiled.
"Hullo, my name is Bill Weasley, how may i help you?" he asked politely.
"Hello Mr. Weasley, my name is Jackson Riley, I'm the one escorting young Joshua here" Riley said placing a hand on Joshua's shoulder.
Mr. Weasley's head snapped toward Joshua, seeming to notice him for the first time. Joshua shifted from foot to foot nervously as Mr. Weasley's eyes narrowed suspiciously, before widening in shock.
"It's you…." He breathed finally "good merlin you look just like Ron-" but Riley cut him off before he could finish.
"Ok Mr. Weasley, we have some paper work to go over just to make it official, this could take a while Joshua, maybe you'd like to sit in the hall?" Mr. Weasley took the hint.
"Right of course, but you don't have to sit in the corridor, you can hang out in the conference room across the hall, don't worry no one's using it" Riley nodded encouragingly.
"I'll come get you when were done, ok kiddo?" Joshua nodded and left, grateful to get out from under Mr. Weasley's gaze.
Joshua sat at the large marble table and was immediately grateful that he had brought "The Hunger Games" as a source of entertainment. He kicked his feet up on the table and began to read.
Joshua was so engrossed in how sucky and unfair Katniss's life was that he didn't even notice when the door opened and Agent Riley led his mother and father into the room.
Hermione Weasley walked quickly down the hall, leaving her husband and two children jogging to catch up. Hermione was determined to see her son. First she had to wait for eleven years and then another week because of the Minister. But not anymore, Hermione was going to see her son and no force on this earth could stop her.
She stormed into Bill's office, startling the two men that sat talking and said four words with so much determination and emotion that it left the two men momentarily speechless.
"Where is my son?"
A/N: thank you i hope you all enjoyed! a special thank you to Guest and Guest for reviewing on the last chapter it really means alot to me! PLEASE REVIEW AND I WILL UPDATE NEXT SATURDAY!
