Chapter 4: At Flourish and Blotts
After lunch, everyone gathered back in the living room and Arthur picked up the book.
"Chapter 4…At Flourish and Blotts" Arthur started.
Molly groaned as she remembered what had happened that day.
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"The first explosion!" Ron laughed loudly.
"Shut up" Harry pouted.
"What happened?" Sirius asked confused.
"He means you should have seen the look on Harry's face the first time he heard it" Fred said as he and his twin joined their brother in the laughing.
"Came running in asking if we were alright" George added.
"You'd think he'd seen a boggart!"
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"I think my favorite was when you asked what the function was for a rubber duck" Harry admitted to Mr. Weasley.
"What IS the function?" Moody asked "Sounds sinister."
"The function is bath time amusement for young children" McGonagall told him.
"Ginny's Harry Potter rag doll is more sinister" Bill added.
The temperature dropped about 30 degrees and Harry noticed that Ginny looked ready to kill.
Harry turned to Ron who smirked and winked at Harry indicating that the doll was the present mentioned before as Ginny had kept changing the subject whenever Harry asked at lunch.
"Read Dad" Bill begged. 22
"Wow. First shy now clumsy? Where's my baby sister?" Charlie asked.
"Sleep with one eye open tonight" Ginny warned.
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"Wow. Lockhart's been busy since I went to Azkaban" Sirius said. "His courage must have shot up."
"What do you mean?" Snape asked.
"Remember that time in sixth year when a loud girly scream filled the entire castle?" Sirius asked.
"Yeah?"
"A rat crossed Lockhart's path" Sirius said with a smirk before frowning at the memory of how excited Wormtail had been.
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"We wish" Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and even McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, and Snape chorused.
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The Weasley boys laughed at their sister's expense. Even Harry cracked a smile.
"It's not funny!" Ginny declared.
"It's just the memory of how hard I tried to have a civilized conversation with you and you could barely string two words together" Harry explained. "Now you're so much easier to talk to."
Ginny blushed a bit.
Hermione shot Ginny an I-told-you-so look.
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Any remaining laughter at Ginny stopped at the mention of the outcast Weasley. 22
"If we had the money, we'd get another and just keep Errol around the house" Molly sighed before turning to Ron. "We were lucky when you mysteriously got Pig."
"Mysteriously?" Moody asked suspiciously.
"Relax Professor. It's explained in the next book" Harry said.
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"You DO have summer assignments Mr. Weasley" McGonagall reminded him.
"Hermione would have had that done by the first day of vacation!" Ron argued.
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"There's no shame!" McGonagall scolded.
"Says any authority figure" Fred said.
"Actually," Sirius said. "I once thought that way, but then James got the badge. Best thing to ever happen to us."
"Do I WANT to know?" McGonagall asked.
"Not really" Remus interrupted.
"oh come on!" Sirius said before turning to the twins. "Head Boy gives you the password to his quarters, he keeps Head Girl busy…if you think the Prefects' bathroom is nice, it's NOTHING compared to the Head Boy's."
"Dare I ask what you did in there?" Sprout asked.
"Just….took a few baths" Sirius said sheepishly. "slept on those VERY comfy couches in their common room as well."
"If memory serves me correctly, as did McDonald, Jones, McKinnon, Meadows, Burba…"
Sirius slapped his hand over Remus' mouth as McGonagall slapped her forehead.
"James is REALLY lucky he's dead" Flitwick mused.
"And Jones isn't here" Sprout added.
"Sirius!" Molly gasped.
"I was a wild teenager with rampant hormones. Some kids get angry. Some like to…have fun" Sirius said.
"What about Dad?" Harry asked.
"Only had eyes for your Mum" Sirius answered. "So, I kept the broken-hearted girls busy."
"I seem to remember a time when you hexed Miss. Jorkins for interrupting one of your…condolence sessions over by the greenhouse" Dumbledore said.
"Arthur. Just read" Sirius said.
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"Good. They don't deserve any" Tonks said. 22
"I honestly was wondering what you were doing" Harry admitted. 22
"Escalators" Hermione corrected.
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"Looking back, I probably should have been a bit more worried about explaining it to the teachers" Molly realized.
"Snape would have gotten a kick out of it" Ron argued.
Harry nodded in agreement.
Snape gave them a look. But he had to agree. He would have found it immensely amusing between the fact that Potter's son couldn't use the floo and the fact that Lily's first trip…well…she had said 'Flourish and Blotts' and ended up, somehow, at the Longbottom home."
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"That's not good" Sirius said nervously.
"You know what's going to happen?" Tonks asked.
"No…just…with Harry's luck…I don't like it" Sirius said before wrapping his arm around Harry's shoulder more to remind him that Harry gets out of this mess okay.
"Between the fire, the information and the soot, it's a miracle I got as close as I did" Harry admitted. 22
The last time Harry had seen his godfather this pale was when he had entered the Headmaster's office after the third task.
"Sirius?" Harry asked.
"You get out of there fast, right?" Sirius asked.
"You've been there?" Fred and George asked.
"Mum used to take me and Reg all the time" Sirius admitted. "I HATED it in there. Mum was always going into that shop to see if some kid she went to school with was there. Tim Rikkle or something like that."
Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up as Harry and Ginny exchanged a confused look as they recognized the name.
"Did you ever meet him?" Dumbledore asked.
"Nah. Never returned…at least until I ran away" Sirius said. "Harry? Ginny? You two okay? You look a little peaky."
"Was the name Tom Riddle?" Harry asked his godfather.
"I think that's it" Sirius said. "Why?"
"It'll make sense later" Harry said "So your Mum had the hots for him?"
"Big time. But Dad asked Grandpa Pollux for Mum's hand first" Sirius said.
Harry decided to keep his mouth shut. 22
Snape subtly pulled out his list. 22
"I'd change that fact with ANYONE just to have my parents!" Harry exclaimed what he had wanted to say, but didn't dare for fear of getting caught.
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"Well, Malfoy sure didn't get his brains from his father" Ron said.
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As did everyone else in the room (felt a surge of anger). 22
"Shit" Sirius pouted.
"Sirius!" the women in the room (minus Tonks) exclaimed.
"Sorry. It's just…I had wanted that too so I could sneak out of the house at night but Mum said no" Sirius said. "Can't believe I have the same taste as my cousin-once-removed."
"PLEASE don't remind me that you're related to Malfoy" Harry begged.
"You can't help your family Harry. Look at you and the Dursleys" Sirius pointed out.
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"The only reason Miss. Granger is considered a favorite is because she does her homework and…more or less…does what she's told" McGonagall said. "And the few times she does break the rules is with good reason."
Hermione blushed at the praise.
"And if Mr. Malfoy would pay attention in class, do his homework, and not lollygag around bullying other students that CAN'T fight back, he might have potential" Sprout added more to Snape.
Snape jotted that down trying not to blush a bit at the crack.
The night before, he had been doing some serious reflecting and realized that one of the reason he had been picked on by the Marauders was because of what Slytherin represented to Sirius (you try spending a night at Grimmauld Place and not sympathize with him) and what Snape had done with his Death Eater to-be friends. And when the Marauders picked on him, he could have fought back if he tried.
And Neville was next to hopeless with a wand.
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"Good thing I got that anonymous lead on that secret room" Arthur said with a smirk.
Ron tensed and paled as he remembered just HOW his father had gotten that lead. He wasn't sure if Arthur would like how his son managed to fool a Malfoy or if he'd be upset with the number of rule breaking. Not to mention all the time in the girl's toilet. 22
"You THINK!?" Ginny exclaimed.
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"Get the hell out of there" Sirius whispered. 22
"You read with the right accent right?" Remus asked Arthur.
Arthur nodded and Sirius relaxed. Harry was safe with Hagrid.
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"Someone's excited" Fred chuckled.
"Yeah. I just saw one of my best friends for the first time in over a month" Hermione said.
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"With good reason" Sirius said. "I'm all for breaking rules, but there are some rules you don't break no matter what." 22
"Sorry Arthur, but depends on the battle" Sirius said. "Fist fight, sure you are. But Magical duel…he knows too many Dark spells and as a Death Eater, he's not afraid to use unforgivables."
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"So did Crouch" Remus recalled. 22
"Can't you get the books at 4:31?" Sirius asked.
"I wish we did" Harry groaned.
Remus suddenly remembered reading one day that year in the Daily Prophet how Lockhart was going to teach and had seen a picture of Lockhart with Harry who had looked as if he would rather be the same room with Snape, Voldemort, Malfoy, and Vernon.
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"Remember Mum. Look" Fred joked.
"Don't touch" George added.
Molly blushed as everyone else laughed.
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"Thanks a lot Ron" Harry said glaring at his friend.
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"From what I remember of seeing that picture in the Prophet, you were NOT smiling" Remus chuckled.
"I would have rather be in detention with VOLDEMORT than there" Harry said.
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"For fire fuel if I did want it" Harry muttered.
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"You POOR kids" Sirius said.
"Why?!" Tonks gasped. "I would have LOVED to have Gilderoy Lockhart teach me defense."
"Tonks." Moody said. "Remember first day of training when I mentioned an aspiring auror who ran when a Snidget got loose in the office?"
"Yeah?...You're JOKING!"
"Nope." Sirius said with a smirk. "I was in the office that day with James turning in a Death Eater…can't remember who…anyways, when we heard this scream that was louder and girlier than the rat incident"
"Well, he was young" Molly argued. "And inexperienced."
"Let them believe" Harry said to his godfather who had opened his mouth to speak up.
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Harry noticed Ginny tensing a bit. He remembered just WHERE Ginny had gotten that foul item and suddenly recalled that she had found it in her Transfiguration book.
At some point between now and when Malfoy leaves, Ginny was going to get the dreaded object 22
"You know, I think instead of following through with Peter, I'm going to use Malfoy to take the place of the wizard I supposedly murdered" Sirius said angrily.
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"Huh?" those who weren't there (minus Dumbledore) asked.
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"YES!" Sirius said.
"GO DAD!" Bill shouted.
"WHOO-HOO!" Charlie cheered .
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"Honestly Arthur" Molly sighed to her husband "What were you thinking?"
Harry looked around and it appeared that between everyone commenting on the fight, nobody was noticing how green Ginny was looking.
She then ran out of the room.
Harry turned to his godfather and found him telling Ron of a fight he had been in himself with Malfoy Sr. So, Harry took the opportunity to go after Ginny.
"OI!" Moody said loudly.
The room fell silent.
"While you lot were talking about the fight, Potter and the Weasley girl snuck out."
Everyone turned to the two empty seats.
"Merlin, that boy is sneaky." Sirius said amazed he didn't see Harry sneak by.
Hermione and Ron exchanged a look.
"This obviously has something to do with the events." Hermione whispered. "I'll go check it out."
She then turned to the adults.
"Ginny's probably still affected by the events in the book. I'll go make sure she's okay."
"I'll go too." Ron said.
The two left the room.
Meanwhile,
Harry found her throwing up in the bathroom with the door wide open. Instinct took over and Harry ran in there and held her hair back with one hand and rubbed her back with the other.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned as Ginny continued to puke to see Hermione looking concerned.
"You two ran out so quickly" Hermione said "Moody quieted everyone down and pointed out that while everyone was talking about fights you two slipped out. I volunteered to go as I was involved in most of the book and have a better understanding of what's going on plus I wouldn't overreact if something else was going on. Is everything okay?"
"When Malfoy put the book in the cauldron" Harry explained. "That was when he slipped Ginny the diary."
"Oh Ginny" Hermione sighed knowing that even though the air was clear between them, she knew that Ginny had never fully forgiven herself for what happened that year.
She grabbed a cup, filled it with water, and handed it to Ginny who had stopped throwing up.
"Thanks" she said taking it. "I'm not sure how I'm going to handle this story. If I act like this for something as simple as getting the damned diary…what am I going to do when the attacks come?"
"By the time that happens, your parents will be able to comfort you" Hermione said. "They were just too distracted by the fight."
"We're going to get through this Ginny" Harry assured her. "After all…you saw that thing I had to fight to save you. Imagine how Sirius is going to react."
"I'd be a TAD bit more worried on how McGonagall's going to react" Hermione said.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"I overheard her talking to Sirius before lunch. She feels a bit guilty that you couldn't go to adults for help because she didn't believe us about the stone. When she learns that you went into the chamber without an adult…"
"I did too have an adult with me!" Harry said indignantly. "We had Lockhart."
"Why?" Hermione asked having been petrified at the time.
"To tell us if the basilisk was anywhere near" Harry said "If he dropped dead, the answer was yes."
"I mean COMPETENT teacher" Hermione said.
"Hey" Ron said peeking in. "Everything alright?"
"Yeah. Just…that was when Ginny got the diary" Hermione said.
"Oh." Ron said realizing that his sister was still having issues. "Would you rather sit with us?"
"No" Ginny said standing up using Harry as a support. "Considering a few other things to remind everyone on my once-crush on Harry, I don't think sitting near him would be a good thing."
"You can sit between me and Hermione" Ron said.
"No Ron" Ginny said smirking. "I seem to recall all those spiders crawling around. They're bound to be mentioned and I don't want to be separating you from Hermione."
"Well, if you change your mind about sitting with any of us, just come over to our couch" Harry told her.
The group walked back into the living room.
"Is everything okay?" Sirius asked concerned.
"Yeah" Harry said waving it aside. "It's explained near the end."
"Considering what you told us," Molly said as Ginny sat between her parents. "I take it THAT was when you got…IT?"
Ginny nodded.
"I could kill Malfoy" Arthur growled realizing that it had been Malfoy who had done this to his baby girl.
"Can we read so that we would know whether to stop or join you?" Sirius asked.
"Sure" Arthur said picking the book back up and scanned for where he left off.
"The Malfoys had left the building" Remus said.
Hermione giggled at the muggle reference.
"Huh?" Ron asked wondering what the joke was.
"Muggle thing" Harry explained. 22
"Still not, but I like it better than portkeys" Harry said.
"Yeah. Your father didn't like floo either because of the glasses issue." Sirius said.
"So who's reading next?" Arthur asked.
"I will" Remus said taking the book and turned to the next chapter. He paled at the title.
"Remus?" Sirius asked.
"The…The Whomping Willow" Remus started.
