Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter Universe.
Chapter 16
Seven owls arrived that morning, all carrying slightly-yellowish enveloped addressed in green ink with the Hogwarts crest embedded in a red wax seal on the back. Percy frowned as he traced his fingers over the crest and then looked up at me. I knew he was remembering the letter Dumbledore had sent me with the money.
"Fred, George, the school owls are here" Molly called up the stairs. Percy was already reading his through and polishing his prefect badge again with the hem of his shirt. Ginny had grabbed hers eagerly and her face was full of the excitement you only get when you've waited patiently for so long for something, and it was finally here.
SECOND YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gaddling with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart
"You've been told to get Lockhart's books too!" Fred exclaimed, plastering marmalade onto his toast. "The new defence teacher must be a fan – bet it's a witch"
"That lot won't come cheap" George said, "Lockhart's books are really expensive" Molly looked slightly worried at that.
"Well, we'll manage" Molly said with a smile, putting on a strong face. I winced, aware that I was definitely being a burden by being here. But try as I might, I couldn't think of a single other place to go. I didn't have anywhere. I hoped I could show my appreciated to the Weasleys for letting me stay here, even if I couldn't tell them how desperately I needed this. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things second-hand"
"Oh are you starting Hogwarts this year" Harry asked. Ginny nodded and blushed, before hiding her face behind her Hogwarts acceptance letter.
"We'll go to Diagon Alley today, everyone get ready. That means getting dressed" She said sternly when George stood up, slapping his knees as if he was ready to go shopping in his nightwear.
I had let Ginny borrow my lavender-coloured robes for the trip. She looked incredibly smart and mature in them, and kept fiddling with the loose sleeves – a habit that I also had. They fit her nicely, and we matched as I was wearing the pale green ones.
Molly picked up the flowerpot on the windowsill and peered inside, "We're running low, Arthur" She sighed, "We'll have to buy some more today…Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"
Harry blinked as everyone waited for him to take a handful of bright green powder.
"Harry's never travelled by Floor powder before" I said, before Ron could. "I'll go first and show you how to do it" I smiled. "Are we going straight to the ports in Diagon Alley, or through the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Go straight to Diagon Alley and wait for us when you get there"
I nodded, grabbing a measured out handful of powder and stepping into the fireplace. Part of me wanted to say it wrong so I could end up in Knockturn Alley – that would be a laugh.
"And Harry" I said before I went in, hoping I could save us all some time looking for him. "Don't say diagonally, it's Diagon Alley" I smirked, dropping the Floo powder and disappearing at the end of the sentence.
Fred appeared directly after me.
"Where's Harry?" I asked as George came out rather graciously. I was standing a couple of feet away from the Floo port, and not by choice. I had been flung again from the fireplace.
"Mum sent us first to make sure you made it through okay" Fred explained, standing next to me to watch Ron come through, then Ginny, then Percy, then finally Molly and Arthur.
"He said it wrong" Ron said worriedly, after double checking Harry hadn't miraculously made it.
"Izzy" Molly barked, "How did you know Harry would say diagonally?"
"I'm psychic" I shrugged, "Hagrid will find him, its fine"
She ignored me. "Arthur, go and check down at Flourish and Blotts. Percy, go and ask the barman if Harry's gone through. Perhaps we can get a search party out for him. Fred, George, patrol up and down the alley, will you?"
"Ron, Izzy, where's the first place Harry's go if he got lost somewhere?"
"Well" I began, "I assume he would look around, make sure wherever he was, he was safe. If he came out at the wrong Floo port, he would use Floo powder to come straight here, but if he couldn't find any powder he'd have to leave wherever he was to get help. Hence, he finds Hagrid, who's shopping for flesh-eating slug repellent"
Ron shook his head with a soft chuckle. "Mum, he'll be fine. This is Harry Potter we're talking about. He survived Voldemort…twice! He'll be absolutely fine"
Ginny was looking around anxiously for a sign of Harry, that she wouldn't find for about seven minutes. We made a whole show of parading up and down the high street until Percy ran up to us.
"Hagrid found him" He breathed, showing us the way to where Hermione had just finished repairing Harry's glasses.
"Scourgify" I flicked my wand at him and the dirt on his face vanished.
"Where did you come out, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Knockturn Alley" replied Hagrid grimly.
"Excellent!" said Fred and George together.
"We've never been allowed in" explained Ron, enviously.
"I should ruddy well think not" growled Hagrid.
"Oh, Harry – oh, my dear – you could have been anywhere" Molly gasped as soon as she arrived, pulling Harry into a tight hug.
"Well, gotta be off" Hagrid said hurriedly, desperate to get away from Mrs Weasley who was gushing about what could have happened if Hagrid hadn't found him. "See yer at Hogwarts!" He strode away, easily visible as his head and shoulders were much higher than anyone else in the packed street.
"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry whispered to me, Ron and Hermione as we were led up the steps to Gringotts.
"Malfoy and his father" I replied. They all looked at me. "What? You said guess!"
"Well, your right" Harry shrugged.
"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" Arthur Weasley said sharply behind them.
"No, he was selling-" Harry responded.
"So, he's worried" Arthur said smugly, "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…"
"You be careful, Arthur" Mrs Weasley cautioned as they entered the bank, "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew-"
"Are those your parents, Mione?" I asked and Arthur immediately galloped off to talk to them.
"Meet you back here" Ron said to Hermione and me as they were led off to their underground vaults by a Goblin.
"Mum, Dad" Hermione introduced, "This is Izzy"
"Ah, yes we've heard a lot about you from Hermione" Her Mum greeted.
I looked at Hermione nervously, "All good things, I hope"
"Of course. Is it true that you're psychic?"
I closed my eyes for a second and then nodded, Hermione looked at me apologetically and I shrugged to her.
"We've been reading up a lot on the wizarding world" Her Dad continued, "Tell me, is a Psychic the same as a Seer"
"No" I shook my head rather vigorously, "Seers tell prophecies. I just have odd feelings that something's going to happen. Seers are often psychic as well, but not all Psychics are Seers"
"Okay" Her Dad frowned and I didn't blame them, magic was a lot to learn about. "Are you here with your parents?"
"No, my mother's sick, so I've been staying at the Burrow for the holidays"
"I'm sorry to hear that"
"Don't be. It's been great fun. We played Quidditch like…every day. And now Harry's staying there too. Psst, Hermione" I hissed to her, "What are you parent's names?"
"Wendell and Monica" She replied back quietly.
Monica was conferring with a Goblin about muggle currency, while Wendell chatted to me, but he was called away by his wife to help her.
"Are you looking forward to the new school year?" Hermione gushed, "I am. I can't wait to see who the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher is. They must be a fan of Gilderoy Lockhart to set us all these books, but I've heard he's really good. I've been corresponding with Sophie Roper over the summer – you know, she's the quiet girl in our house. And she recommended I read the Witch Weekly Magazine. My parents let me get a subscription and they've been reading it as well. Anyway, there was this article about Gilderoy Lockhart in there. You know, his autobiography has just come out. I really want to read it. He must have led such an interesting life. One thing that was worrying me, though, was the books we were set. Will we only be learning about trolls, vampires, banshees, ghouls, hags and yetis?"
"I don't think so" I interrupted, "I have a feeling he might teach us about Cornish Pixies"
"Cornish Pixies. I think I've seen a picture of them somewhere. Aren't they purple? Oh I hope we get to see them for real" I silently bit my lip. "You said he" Hermione backtracked, "Do you know who the new teacher is?" She asked eagerly.
I shrugged, "Just have a feeling. Anyway, I can't wait for school to start either"
When Harry and the Weasley's finally returned, we were discussing third year electives, even though we wouldn't have to decide on them until the end of the year. Hermione had been saying that she wanted to take all of them and didn't know how she would be able to make a decision on which ones she wanted.
"Shall we meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your school books?" Molly suggested. Arthur took Wendell and Monica to have a drink at the Leaky Cauldron. Fred and George spotted Lee Jordan outside Gambol and Japes – the wizarding joke shop – and hurried over to him. Molly was taking Ginny to get some second-hand robes.
"Mione, want to come clothes shopping with me?" I offered and Hermione grinned.
"First I need to buy new ink and parchment. And I have to make sure I have enough money for the books and then I can decide how much to spend on clothes"
"I need to buy a new cauldron as well. The twins melted mine. Shall we get the necessities first then?"
Ron gazed longingly at the full set of Chudley Cannons Quidditch robes on display in Quality Quidditch Supplies as we dragged him past into the store next door.
"How many rolls of parchment do you think we'll need this year?" Hermione asked, already holding two rolls.
"Buy extra, just in case, and then you can use them next year if you have leftover" Harry shrugged, picking up three rolls for himself. Hermione ended up buying four and I copied her.
I also grabbed another two bottles of black ink and another quill.
"Why don't you get one bottle of interesting ink?" Ron asked, "Self-correcting ink is so much easier"
"I hate self-correcting ink" I growled and they cocked their heads at me curiously, "That damn auto-correct"
"That's the point of self-correcting ink" Hermione replied, "It automatically corrects itself"
I rolled my eyes, even muggles in these times didn't understand things. Auto-correct wouldn't be invented until the 21st century.
"But, Ron" Hermione continued, "You won't be allowed to use self-correcting ink in exams, so you'd be better prepared if you wrote without it" Her bossy voice was slipping back in and Ron scowled at her as he shoved a bottle onto the counter and paid for it with the few sickles he had.
"If each of Lockhart's books costs five galleons, that's thirty five in total for the book list, but then I want to get his autobiography and a couple more books from Flourish and Blotts, so if I put aside forty-five galleons for that" Hermione muttered to herself as the boys tried to herd us towards the joke shop. "Why are we going in here?" Hermione asked at the door.
"Fine" Ron replied with a snort, "You girls can go enjoy the clothes shops and we'll meet you in Flourish and Blotts"
I rolled my eyes, "It won't take long. I just want some normal clothes, not the ones my Mama picked out for me before first year. This is the first time I've got to spend my own money" I dragged her over to Twilfitt and Tattings and inside, I headed straight for the jeans section and picked out two pairs – one darker and one lighter blue. Then I grabbed a black and white Weird Sisters t-shirt and a couple of other bits of clothes that I deemed muggle-enough for a wizarding shop. I wasn't going to go around wearing witches' hats if I could help it.
Hermione, however, seemed more interested in the wizard-style clothes. She was running her hands over the fabric of a black cape that seemed to double as a scarf and already had some other predominantely wizarding clothes slung over her arm. As I headed towards the shoe section, I spotted her snag a beautiful blue shawl from its hover charm.
"Why do they never have trainers?" I complained, looking at the rows and rows of boots in all sizes and colours. Some had heels – which I certainly wouldn't be getting into just yet. And some shiny flat things which wouldn't last long in snow.
"Izzy? How do I look?" Hermione asked, coming out of the changing rooms at the back of the shop.
"Nice" I responded. She didn't look much like the Hermione I had seen in the movies, without her pink cardigan which was the only thing I remembered. And she certainly no longer looked muggleborn. The wizarding clothes definitely suited her much better than the pink cardigan did though.
"Tell me, how do you put this thing on" She gestured to the strange cloak she was holding. I laughed, but internally I was shaking. I had better hope I could put it on her correctly.
"Alright, just put it on like you would a cloak, and fasten it" She did so, "And then you just wrap the scarf part around your neck like normal. See" Hermione started admiring it in the mirror to see if it suited her or not and I strolled into my own changing room.
In the end, I bought most of the clothes I had picked up. Hermione had convinced herself to buy three of the items she had tried on, because she really wanted to get something witchy, but nothing she already owned would go with it.
Next to the counter, there was a make-up stand. I was only twelve so didn't need make-up at this stage in life, but the rest of my pureblood Slytherin roommates would start using it soon and I didn't want to be even more of an outcast. I chewed my lip for a moment before watching myself in the mirror, and finally deciding to experiment. I bought some white eyeliner and mascara, as I thought it would be cool against my new platinum hair, though there was the consequence that it had the possibility to look incredibly weird.
"Come on, Izzy, or we'll be late to Flourish and Blotts"
"Hold up, I'll be really quick buying my cauldron" I ducked into a shop. Hermione sighed and followed me. A minute later, I had a new black cauldron and nowhere to carry it. I ended up piling the folded clothes and all my other school supplies into the cauldron as we pushed through the crowd of mainly middle-aged women to get into the bookshop.
"There you girls are!" Molly exclaimed, bustling around to us. "Where did you get off to?"
"Clothes shopping" I grinned. "So Lockhart's here himself, I see"
"He's signing copies of his autobiography" Molly said.
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed, "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
"We grabbed you both a copy of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2 from the shelves" Harry said, handing them to us.
"Come on" Molly steered us all forward, "We'll be able to see him in a minute"
The moment Gilderoy Lockhart stepped out, there was a blinding flash from a short photographer. The camera let out puffs of purple smoke with every click as he started to dance around in front of the table to get better angles.
"Out of the way, there" He snarled at Ron, pushing it backwards, "This is for the Daily Prophet!"
"Big deal" Ron huffed, rubbing his foot which the photographer had stepped on.
Gilderoy Lockhart heard him and looked up, but his gaze wasn't on Ron, it slid quickly onto Harry. "It can't be Harry Potter" He said and the crowd broke into whispers. Lockhart stepped forward and seized Harry's arm as he was yanked to the front to stand next to him. Molly just clapped along with the rest of the crowd as the photographer started snapping pictures again.
"Ladies and Gentlemen" The crowd instantly quietened down, "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!" He paused to grin at the camera. "When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography – which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge-" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
The crowd broke out with a roaring applause, as the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart were shoved into Harry's arms. He staggered out of the limelight, to the corner of the shop where Ginny was standing with her cauldron.
"You have these" He told her, tipping them into her cauldron, "I'll buy my own-"
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Draco Malfoy sneered, coming down the stairs from the second floor. "Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page"
Ginny glared up at the platinum-haired boy, "Leave him alone, he didn't want all that"
"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend" Malfoy drawled. Ginny flushed deep scarlet, and looked relieved when Ron, Hermione and I pushed ourselves through the crowd with our just-bought books.
"Oh, it's you" Ron said, looking at Malfoy unpleasantly, "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley" Malfoy retorted, "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all of those" Ron went as red as Ginny and started towards their schoolmate with an urge to throttle him.
I stepped in front of him, "Now, Draco, let's not cause a scene, shall we?"
"Oh, is this your brother, Izzy" Ginny asked and I groaned. Malfoy looked startled for a moment.
"No, Ginny. I don't have a brother"
"Ron!" Arthur Weasley called, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside"
"Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley" Lucius Malfoy sneered, placing his hand on Draco's shoulder.
Arthur nodded coldly, "Lucius" He greeted.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear" said Mr Malfoy, "All those raids…I hope they're paying you overtime"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
"Obviously not" Mr Malfoy said, sounding surprisingly like Severus Snape. "Dear me, what the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr Weasley flushed very dark. "We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy" He replied, his voice low and slightly threatening.
"Clearly" said Mr Malfoy, his voice high but full of malice as his eyes raked over the Grangers who were watching nervously from a distance. "The company you keep, Weasley…and I thought your family could sink no lower-"
Arthur wasted no more time and threw himself over, knocking Ginny's cauldron onto the floor. The metal clang of it hitting the floor alerted the rest of the shoppers that there was a fight going on, and soon most of the occupants of the shop were watching as Arthur punched Lucius in the eye.
"Get him, Dad" Fred and George cheered. Dozens of heavy books thundered down on their heads as the men rolled into the bookcases.
Molly was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"
The crowd moved out of the way, knocking more books over and creating more of a mess. The assistant was trying to restore order.
I tugged on Draco's sleeve. "I've waited my whole life to watch something like this" I grinned and started laughing, "I just wouldn't have thought it would be between Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy" Draco smirked slightly and I took that as a victory. "Hey, why didn't you tell Snape that it was me who stunned you?"
Draco sneered, his cold expression returning, "You thought I would admit to being taken down by a blood traitor who hangs out with Weasleys and mudbloods in her spare time"
"At least I'm here with friends" I retorted, "Who are you here with? Your father? Could your mother not make it?"
"Like you can talk, Deverill. Where are you parents?"
The fight had been broken up by Hagrid who had physically torn the two apart. Arthur had a split lip, but Lucius didn't go without injuries either.
"Mind your own business, Malfoy" Harry said, overhearing his last comment.
"Come on now" Hagrid was saying, "Let's get outta here"
I had missed Lucius slipping the Riddle Diary into Ginny's trunk along with the Transfiguration book, but I knew it was in there. I was now faced with two options, I could take it out and destroy it or I could let the events of the year play out. Second year was important. Currently, I didn't know of a way to destroy a horcrux – though it was possible fiendfyre might do the trick. I doubted me or Dumbledore would be able to produce it in a controlled environment, which meant Harry had to kill the basilisk to impregnante the sword with basilisk venom and allow the fangs to be used as Horcrux-destroyers as well. It wasn't as if letting the events play out would be that bad. Even if several people were petrified, no one was killed! Plus, the shared life experience between Harry and Ginny was an added bonus.
No, I would let Voldemort control my friend because it would make the future better and easier.
We all hurried up the street, leaving an annoyed assistant behind to clean up the mess. The Grangers seemed frightened and Mrs Weasley was absolutely furious.
"A fine example to set for your children…brawling in public…what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought-"
"He was pleased" said Fred, "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report – said it was all publicity"
They trudged to the Floo ports next to the Leaky Cauldron subdued. The Grangers split off to head to the Muggle street on the other side.
"Izzy, dear" Molly said, "How's your mother doing?"
I froze. This hadn't come up often, but I didn't receive mail very often from my family and I had been staying with the Weasley's nearly all summer. It was actually rather surprising how little they'd ask if I'd heard anything more from them.
I shrugged.
"Why don't you go check in on them for the rest of the day?" Arthur suggested, "You never know, they might let you stay there for the last week. I'm sure your parents must be missing you"
The glance between Arthur and Molly made me think that this was a clever disguise to get rid of me. They had been so helpful all summer and didn't think I could take advantage of that any longer. I didn't want to if they were struggling so much with finances. They had Harry to look after and that was fine. I tried not to be jealous that Harry had another place to go (and was still welcome at the Burrow) while I did not. They didn't know that. I tried to weigh up whether living in an abusive home was better than having no home, no income and barely enough money to buy food. At least Harry still had somewhere warm to sleep and some food to eat.
I felt bad that I was leaving Harry in the custody of his relatives when they were abusive, but there wasn't much I could do from my position. The Weasleys couldn't take him in full time, they were so poor already. If I had somewhere to go and a family, I might have been able to look after him. Wendell and Monica Granger couldn't be expected to offer Sanctuary to him just because he was friends with their daughter. They couldn't add that to Muggles who didn't have wards around their houses from Lily's sacrifice. Anyone who took Harry in would have the added danger of his enemies too. Old supporters of Voldemort could still wish him ill. And whoever took him in would get the brunt of it when the war started. If Dumbledore had known a way to help Harry, surely he would have done so already.
And if I'd known I was about to be thrust out into the cold, I wouldn't have spent as much of the money I had on clothes. I should have saved more for an emergency just like this one. There was no way I could get by a full week.
I nodded. "I'll fetch my trunk later" My throat blocked up as they watched me walk to the fireplace. I dropped a knut into the pot and took a handful of powder. I stood inside the fireplace without doing anything for a couple of seconds and they all watched me, getting more confused by the second. This was a nightmare.
Where could I go? The first place I thought was Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts, but even if I managed to get through the wards, Fred or George could easily spot me on the map and that would be hard to explain.
I could go to Snape at Spinner's End, but I didn't know which number he lived at and he would likely kill me before I could ask to see Dumbledore. I sighed.
"See you later then" I said, still pushing for time. I took a death breath. "Twelve Grimmauld Place" I dropped the Floo dust, and though no words came out of my mouth – I wasn't the secret keeper – I was whisked away by the green flames.
"What did she say?" Molly asked after Izzy had disappeared from the fireplace, leaving only ash behind.
"I didn't hear anything" Fred shrugged with a frown. "She must have whispered it"
"No" Arthur said, still frowning, "I think wherever she went to is protected by the Fidelis Charm, and she's not their secret keeper"
"What's the Fidelis charm?" Harry asked.
"It's an ancient charm used to conceal a secret" Percy recited, "If the spell is used on a house, it becomes invisible, unplottable, intangible and soundproof. You can only learn the secret if you've been told it by the secret keeper and only the secret keeper can tell the secret to anyone"
"Sounds…extensive" Ron commented.
"Only like the really old purebloods would use that spell though" Percy continued, "But Deverill isn't part of the sacred-twenty-eight"
"Deverill is her father's name" Harry said, "He's a muggle"
Fred suddenly looked horrified at Ginny, "Remember what you said! What if Izzy's related to the Malfoys!"
I skidded out of the fireplace on my back and halfway across the drawing room. With a groan, I sat up and raised my wand in case I would come face to face with a dark being. This was the days before the Order had cleared it all out to be used as Headquarters and even Harry had only seen it after the Order had started working on it.
After a quick scan around, I didn't see any immediate danger, though I was at risk of suffocating on the amount of dust floating around that I had disturbed in my slide across the dust-coated wooden floor.
There was a grunt to my right and the house elf scooted into view. "Who are you?" He growled unpleasantly.
"A friend" I offered hopefully. He didn't like that answer and was raising his fingers to perform elf magic. "Regulus asked you to destroy the locket" I blurted and he stopped, his face falling into one of sadness.
"No matter how hard Kreacher tried" He growled in his hoarse voice, "Kreacher could not destroy it"
"I know" I offered sympathetically. "Now, I know you don't really have a master seeing as Sirius is in Azkaban. Basically, I was hoping I could stay here. It would give you something to do for your days, you know someone to serve" Kreather continued to glare at me so I continued, "Sirius Black, your master, hasn't ordered you not to help anyone who comes in, has he? Just imagine how proud he would be" Kreacher snarled, "if you helped a poor, homeless twelve-year-old" I blinked hopefully, "You know, I may not be secret keeper, but as I made it here, it's clear I know the secret, which means someone trusted me with it"
"Who?" Kreacher barked.
"J.k. Rowling" I muttered, "But really, it was Sirius Black, I guess"
Kreacher glared at me.
"Oh come on, Kreacher, just give it a shot…for me? Spend a week looking after me and if it works out, perhaps we can make it an annual thing. As long as Sirius never finds out about this"
That seemed to be on the way to the right thing to say. Kreacher was happy as long as he could keep a secret from the boy he loathed yet was forced to serve. There was no way Sirius would think to ask Kreacher if some random girl had stayed here over the summer.
And as much as Kreacher dragged his feet around when he was serving Sirius, there was probably still a part of him that felt happy to have something to do again.
"Master Black" Kreacher spat, "was friends with blood traitors and mudbloods. Which are you?"
"Neither" I tried, "Is there a way to prove it to you?"
Kreacher grinned nastily, raising his hand for elf magic. I winced automatically. If there really was a way to test if I was a muggleborn, what would it show? What if it showed that I was a Muggle? Technically I was, though I was able to use magic, for some reason still unknown to me.
He snapped his fingers releasing some sparks, which flew over to me and surrounded me. I closed my eyes, desperately wishing that this would be alright. Kreacher would kill me if it did show me to be a Muggle. Even through my eyelids, I could see the light brighten and then fade. I opened my eyes.
"Would girl like some tea?" He offered and I grinned, whatever had happened, this was fine. I had proven myself to be acceptable company in the Moste Noble and Ancient House of Black. I was in Grimmauld Place. Home to Sirius Black. And would-be Headquarters of the order in a couple of years.
"I'd love a decaf coffee" I sighed and lay back down across the floor. That had actually been rather stressful. I had gone from homeless, to at the hands and mercy of a murderous house elf of a dark pureblood family, to happily drinking coffee with him. It was a relief that everything had worked out, though I wondered what the elf magic had shown about my blood identity. Asking Kreacher would just highlight my ignorance, but it obviously showed I wasn't a muggleborn, so hopefully I was sticking with halfblood. Technically, half of me thought myself to be a muggle and the other half was quickly becoming a witch the longer I spent in the wizarding world. Maybe it had shown that?
I spent the next few hours scougifying the kitchen, lounge and one of the bathrooms on the lower floor, tiptoeing back and forth so not to wake up the sleeping portrait of Walburga Black. I had asked Kreather to take any non-essential objects or any dark objects and dump them in the upstairs living room to be dealt with come fifth year, that at least stopped me from worrying for my life every time I walked past a cupboard or dresser that could contain who knew what!
Kreacher had suddenly seemed quite lively, well livelier that he had been on fifth year. He was actually making an effort to rearrange furniture so it was easier to get from place to place. And he kept snapping his fingers and removing squares of grime. He had also spent an hour going shopping for actual food rather than the off stuff in the cupboard and refrigerator where the charms had worn off. I didn't know where they bought food from. Was there a wizarding supermarket? I also didn't know how Kreacher was paying for the food, but he must have some money to feed himself over the years, I thought it best not to ask.
Telling Kreacher I would be back in a bit, I took a handful of Floo powder from the pouch by the fire and Flooed to the Burrow.
"Hello?" I called to the empty living room and kitchen. "George? Fred? Ron?"
"Ah, hello, dear" Molly bustled in, "How is your mother?"
"Oh…uh…confined to her room. You were right, father was happy to see me. He didn't want to owl me, allowing me to come back home, because he knows I hate seeing Mama when she's not well. I'll just fetch my trunk, and then I'll be out of your way" I added, heading for the stairs and leaving Molly a little confused behind me.
I knocked on Ginny's door before I entered, but she wasn't in there. I packed up the rest of my stuff that had been scattered around a little. Ginny had taken my lavender robes off and left them on the bed. I quickly scribbled a note saying she could keep them – lavender wasn't really my colour anyway.
Ron's room was up another flight of steps and wanting to say goodbye to them, I knocked on their door as well. Again, there was no answer and no one in the room, well except for Peter Pettigrew. He was on Ron's bed, chewing the bright red covers. Everything in the room was scarlet. It looked like a fire had spread everywhere. Across one wall, he had stuck up a load of Chudley Cannons posters. My eyes, however, were still fixed on Scabbers.
There was a small cage for him tucked just behind the door. I wish I knew how to charge in unbreakable, but I hoped Pettigrew wouldn't break out and reveal himself before I could get back to Grimmauld Place. I grabbed the rat and shoved him through the door, shutting it and casting the locking spell. He squeaked indignantly as I hid him in my trunk and slammed the lid down.
Once I was finished, I headed back downstairs. Mrs Weasley was washing dishes in the kitchen.
"Got all your things?" She asked.
I nodded, "I couldn't find Ginny or anyone"
"Oh I think they're all in the paddock playing Quidditch" said Molly, apologetically. "You can go out and play with them, if you want"
"No, it's alright. My father-" well, Kreacher "-will be expecting me back. He only sent me to fetch my trunk. I'll see you on the platform on the first. Tell Percy Happy Birthday from me" I was about to Floo out when I heard a rumbling in the distance. "Is that a storm?" I asked Mrs Weasley.
"So it is" Molly peered through the window at the grey clouds overheard, "I'd better fetch the boys in"
"I can do that" I blurted, "I've just remembered something I wanted to tell Fred and George, anyway"
I didn't wait for a reply, just raced to the paddock, leaving Scabbers and my trunk behind. The unbreakable potion vial swung against my chest where the second heartbeat still pounded, almost completely merged with my original heartbeat, which was pounding quickly from excitement and the stress of running.
My friends in the paddock landed quickly when they saw me panting and clutching my side. I had just come through the treeline which was quite a way from the house.
"Molly said you have to come in because of the storm" I panted. Ginny groaned while Ron muttered something about it not being fair. "She's waiting for you at the house" Harry and Ron immediately took off and Ginny asked if I was coming. I said I'd wait to catch my breath and then catch up with them.
As soon as they were gone, Fred and George pulled me aside and we watched the sky for the first lightning bolt. Thunder sounded several times and we were worried it was going to start raining and drench us, or that Molly would send someone to see where we had gotten to.
"Bottom's up" Fred and George said in unison when finally the sky flashed golden. I pulled the cork out of the vial and we all drank together.
As soon as the potion settled in my stomach, I knew something was wrong. My two heartbeats should have fully aligned but instead they were slipping further away from each other.
I looked at George and saw his eyes flashing completely white a second before mine did too.
The next thing I knew, I was standing in an opening that stretched as far as the eyes could see, the ground was covered in thick snow. There was a blurred shadow walking towards me, the air around it seeming to ripple the closer it got. Only when it was a couple of metres away did it become a clear figure. Covered in sleek, white fur that blended with the snow and with hazel eyes the exact shade of my own. It couldn't be more than forty-five centimetres tall, but it was much longer with it's bushy tail puffed out at the back proudly. Other than the eyes, there were really no other defining characteristics.
I crouched down to greet the form and it stopped a couple of inches away from me, cocking it's head to one side, it's eyes narrowed calculatedly. Then it closed the last few inches and passed right through me. I spun around, expecting to see it on the other side, but the vision faded and I found myself panting on the floor with two heartbeats beating loudly.
"Awesome" Fred breathed, kneeling on the floor, having just returned from his own vision. "Izzy, what animal are you?"
"A fox? Maybe it was an arctic fox?" I replied, frowning. That wasn't the form I expected myself to take. Or perhaps I had just hoped it could be something more useful, something that could get into small places or pass undetected. Some part of me had thought my Pottermore Patronus would be my Animagus form as well, which would make me a Bay Mare. That wasn't to be.
"Nice" George grinned, "What are you Freddie?"
"I'm a magpie" He grinned right back, "You know, I never noticed that on a magpie, their wings are like a shiny blue colour" He pondered thoughtfully. "Anyway, Georgie, what are you?" He stood up.
George bounced up after him, "I'm an owl!" He bragged, "A sweet, intelligent, beautiful eagle owl!"
"You mean like the ones that carry mail?" Fred teased and George aimed a mock punch at his head.
"You mean you're no longer identical?" I blinked at them innocently, and they exploded both talking at once. I sighed, though my chest was starting to hurt being pounded simultaneously.
"Iz, you alright?" Fred sounded worried. I opened my eyes, having not realised I had closed them.
"Have your heartbeats synced?"
"Yeah" Fred and George said slowly.
"Mine haven't. It kind of hurts" I muttered.
"Oh Merlin" Fred said, putting his hand to my chest and withdrawing it when he felt the double heartbeat.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll get used to it" I promised, "Ever hear that theory that babies cry so much because they can feel their heart beating?" I smiled, "And you know, you've always got to look on the bright side. We're Animagi!"
"Except we haven't learnt to transform yet!" Fred replied, just as enthusiastically while George helped me to my feet.
"Come on" He said, "Mum will go mad if we're out here when it starts raining"
I leant on George's shoulder as they took me back to the house. But suddenly I pushed away from them both. They stared at me in concern, but I grinned manically.
"I'm a Time Lord" I shouted. "I'm an actual Time Lord. Oh my God this is going to be so great. I'm going to build a big blue box and make it bigger on the inside – like the tent! I have such plans for the future!" I laughed.
The twins were staring at me as if I was mad, and perhaps I was. I was a Whovian trapped in the Harry Potter Universe and had just become an Animagus with Fred and George Weasley. I had kidnapped Peter Pettigrew and was living in Sirius Black's house while he was in Azkaban and had convinced Kreacher to look after me. And I looked like a Malfoy.
NOTE: This is the last chapter of the holidays, in the next chapter they'll go back to school, either by train or by flying car.
Just another quick fyi, this isn't a crossover fic with Doctor Who, I just saw a chance with the Doctor Who reference and took it. She is unlikely to ever create the tardis, she had much bigger things to worry about. Cough, basilisk.
I'm sorry if I've been taking too much speech directly from the book, I try to tweak it slightly and add my own descriptions, but it's difficult when the scenes won't change much.
Also I realise I've been mixing some of the film with the books which differ slightly, and I apologise but if I prefer a scene from the movies or think it fits better, I'll use it.
Review?