"And you're sure?" Johanna questioned a few days later at an Order meeting, one the Weasley children were joining us for, usually they didn't talk business at dinner but now they had no choice after the actions had been taken, "You-know-who took out a muggle bridge?"
I continued eating my pot pie from my seat between the two Weasley twins who now had completely joined the Order since dropping out of school.
Ron who was across the table seemed to copy my action.
"Muggles have also started going missing," Sirius sat at the head of the table listening as Kingsley filled everyone in at the table. "Fudge has also been fired," this caused Molly Weasley to gasp and for the rest to look up at Kingsley in shock.
"Who's taking over for him then?" Lupin asked before anyone else could.
"Rufus Scrimgeour" I had no clue who that was but couldn't help but notice everyone became tense at the name.
"SCRIMGEOUR?" This cause Sirius to stand, "He's just as ignorant as Fudge was! He'll do whatever it takes to cover all of this up!"
"Yes," Kingsley agreed, "Granted he believes You-know-who is back, but he believes in calming the public more,"
Soon after Kingsley left to return at his post at the Ministry while the rest of us ate in silence. 12 Grimmauld place used to be full of life and energy but as the weeks past on it became a more grim place to be.
"You need to come see the store soon Parker,". After dinner most of us had all headed to the living room and the twins were filling me in on Weasley's Wizards Weezes the new shoppe they had started in Diagon Alley. "You can have a free love potion,"
"Hardly think she needs that," Fred leaned into me in a joking way.
"What are you on to?" I asked looking between the two who always found a way to sandwich me in between them.
"We saw you with Malfoy and his lot," George whispered. Clearly they also saw me escape from Joanna's notice.
"Don't worry, we agree with a little mischief," they went back and forth enough to make me dizzy, not only did they look exactly alike but they thought exactly alike neither needed to finish a sentence, the other did.
"Just don't get in too much trouble," Both of them winked.
"I was with Daphne, they just happened to be there," It was only a half lie, I honestly didn't know they were going to her house.
"I thought Joanna said you were at Luna's?" Ginny questioned from her spot by the fireplace.
"Oh lay off Ginny," Fred defended me before I could reply back, "Life is going to get a lot stricter for the lot of us, may as well live now,"
She kept her mouth shut but she narrowed her eyes at me and I wasn't quite sure if she was going to stand up and rat me out or not.
"Dumbledore says Harry is coming round Friday night!" Ron seemed almost giddy as he filled the doorway to the living room with the rest of the order behind him.
"You ready to go?" Johanna didn't need to ask me twice, I stood and both twins stood with me offering me a hug.
"You know where we're at if you get in too much trouble," Fred whispered in the middle of our hug.
We got home to Severus sitting on the couch with his legs popped up on the coffee table but he looked completely lost in thought as we entered, he was chewing on his bottom lip and hadn't noticed us.
"Well make yourself at home then!" Johanna pulled him out of his fog.
"Well?" He asked and she began filling him in on the meeting while I began climbing the stairs to my room.
I wasn't surprised to see my new owl which I had decided to call Onyx on my bed, but the other owl that seemed to be perched on top of her copper cage did. The owl was double the size of Onyx and completely white.
"Hello there," I spoke to this owl as I made my way over to where it had decided to perch.
I sighed as I saw the opening instantly knowing who it was from.
Ace,
Meet me
Kingscoss, Muggle London
Thursday, 11
Don't send reply back
D.M
Before I could re read the note the owl who had dropped it off flew out the window like it knew it wasn't supposed to wait for a reply and Onxy quickly took it's place. Thursday was tomorrow and for all I knew it was another trap, I decided right away that I was not going to follow his directions and threw the letter in the trash bin under my desk.
I began reading a few of our school books we had been assigned for the summer before I became distracted by the note again, quickly I pulled it out of the bin and began reading it again.
Malfoy better have a damn good reason.
—
In the morning I found I couldn't sleep, I cracked my eyes open with the sun the first thing on my mind my letter that I now had hidden in my school trunk along with my Mother's letter. I didn't have any idea how I was going to get Joanna to agree to let me leave, let alone to the Muggle side of London.
I made my way down the stairs and into the kitchen where as I expected Severus and Johanna were sitting beside each other at our small kitchen table and I could hear her filling the professor in on what had happened at the meeting last night. It didn't take long for me to learn that Dumbledore had Snape working both sides and when he disappeared he was with the Death Eaters.
"The twins store is going to be one of the only things left in Diagon Alley pretty soon,"
There was my way out.
"Do you think it would be cool if I went and checked out their store today?"
Both adults looked over at me like the hadn't noticed I had entered the room earlier.
"No,"
"Yes," they relied before looking back at each other.
"I'll be back before dark," I continued, "They were telling me about it yesterday night I told them I'd come visit,"
"You stay in Diagon Alley," Johanna pointed at me after she thought about it for a minute, "Take your wand with you, and stay with someone you know!" She knew the Weasley siblings would be in and out of the Alley along with Hermione who was set to stay at the Burrow any day now.
"Deal," I agreed but Severus still looked like he didn't agree.
"Promise, any trouble you'll come home, set the wards like I taught you," Apparently at that point she didn't care if I did underage magic or not.
"I promise," I assured her before fixing a plate of the breakfast she had prepared.
—
After I had flooed into the Leaky Cauldron, which seemed to be the only reliable fireplace to travel into anymore in the Alley, I made my way over to the bright orange and purple building with a figurine of the twins ontop of it slowly lifting a top hat to show a rabbit.
A bell over the door drew attention to me, while I shuffled into the crowded store, apparently the crimes happening all around them didn't effect the joke shoppe! I recognized at least 10 faces as I went up to the counter where Fred stood, or at least who I thought was Fred.
"You came," he smiled when he saw me, lifting a part of the counter so I could get through.
"I told you I'd come see it!"
"Admit it, you came for the love potion!" He joked before his carbon copy joined us.
"PARKER!" He wrapped his arm around me after instead of lifting the counter he slid over the top.
"Are you kidding me?" I couldn't help but laugh as I saw the wire across the top of the shoppe with a small Umbridge running the length of the wire.
"Perfect isn't it?" George laughed after he saw what I had been looking at.
'I will have order' echoed through the shoppe from the small Umbridge.
"It's amazing," I laughed along with them and I physically felt the tension leaving my body surrounded by fellow students and the laughs the twins provided.
"Okay then," Fred questioned after I had looked around the shoppe, "What are you really here for Parker?"
"I came to see you guys," I wasn't sure why I lied.
"Yes, but what else did you come for?" George asked finishing the question his twin had started.
"I need you guys to cover for me,"
"Excellent," both twins said at the same time.
—
"Really Malfoy?" I muttered looking up at the large clock in middle of the muggle train station.
It was 5 after 11. Muggle children were running all around the platform around me, while their parents tried to catch up with them. It was almost a sense of calm and normalcy it didn't seem as if any of them were on high alert! The bridge falling and muggles missing was not a second thought to them, they didn't know of the Wizarding world that lied on the other side of the brick wall and the Dark Lord who threaten to kill them all.
"You're on time Parker," his voice came up behind me, he was so close that his breath blew across my neck.
"You're late," I accused.
"No time for details, come on," he reached out his hand and without thought I took it.
"Where are we going Malfoy?"
"Away from the shit," he answer and we took off towards the door. We didn't really talk as he lead me down the street and away from the train station. The sun was beating down on us and I quickly had regretted wearing a cardigan.
"Malfoy, are you kidnapping me?" But I smiled as I saw the sign above the muggle theater. They seemed to be showing oldies and the marque said The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
"You didn't think I'd give up that mystery did you?"
"Malfoy, I don't have any Muggle money," I looked over at him and I wasn't even sure if he carried money on him or if everyone just knew he was a Malfoy and let him have what he wanted.
"Don't worry about it," he lead me past the ticket booth that had formed a small line and around the building to the exit doors. When the doors opened and the crowds came through Malfoy pulled me through like we were fish swimming upstream against the crowd.
"You can't be serious," we laughed as we pushed against everyone.
"Dead serious," he didn't let go of my hand as we looked for seats towards the back.
"They are going to notice us Malfoy," I whispered as workers came and began sweeping.
"Shh," Malfoy held up his finger to his mouth and pulled out a wand that definitely wasn't his. The wand was shiny back and has small studs on the handle, "My Mother's" he informed me before I could ask.
"Don't hurt them," I tried to stand and he pulled me back down tight.
"Confundo," he pointed the wand at the worker closest to us, who suddenly picked up his broom, looked down at it and walked out of the theater, clearly he had no clue why he was in the theater at all. "I'm not always up to something horrible Ace,"
"Don't suppose you brought snacks," I wasn't sure why I felt a little bit of disappointment that he cast a simple spell to confuse the worker.
"Stop pouting Ace," he reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a tiny pack of Bertie Bots and two pumpkin juices before using his Mother's wand again to bring them back to normal size. "The line at the sweet shoppe was out the door."
"I'm upset you compared me to this," he leaned over an hour into the movie.
"It is just a term Malfoy," I whispered back, "I haven't actually seen the movie," as I waited for his whitty comeback all I got was him putting his arm over my shoulder and pulled me closer.
"Muggles don't know how bad they have it," but he turned his eyes back up to the screen. I would of thought today had been about a lot of things, maybe about Tom, or Daphne, Death eaters, his Father, hell even school but not a muggle movie.
—
"What a complete waste of time Ace," he laughed once again he had ahold of my hand and was leading me away. "I'm starving,"
"Once again, this was your idea!"
"And it was a great one," he lead me over to a food truck near the theater; before he forgot we didn't have any muggle money.
"Next time you drag me out on a date, bring money," I fought the urge to slap my free hand over my mouth, I couldn't believe I had called this a date.
"A date huh?" Unfortunately he noticed as well. The only reply I gave him was to roll his eyes and grab his Mother's wand out of his pocket.
"Parker what are you..." he began when while I took my earrings out of my ear, waved his wand above them muttering a transfiguration spell and turned the stud earrings into an American twenty dollar bill.
"We'll take some fries...um chips," I corrected myself at the front of the line, "Keep the change," I smiled at the man as he looked over the foreign bill. He shoved the bill into his register and soon handed up a paper basket full of fries.
"He's going to notice soon," he smirked taking the wand back.
"And we'll be long gone," I assured him, "Now what did you bring me out here for?"
"What are you on about?" He questioned after shoving some fries in his mouth.
"What did you pull me out in the muggle world to tell me?"
"Bloody Hell Parker! Can't I just take you someplace without having a motive? I know your new Mother has eyes on you in Diagon Alley!"
"She's not my new Mother!" I accused, "You're people are the one who have her,"
"He is not my person!" He hissed trying not raise his voice any higher around the muggles. I thought he was going to open his mouth again to give me any other excuse but he only hissed again, this time in pain.
"What?!" I asked looking him up and down, nothing was touching him. "Malfoy!"
"We've got to go," he dropped the fries in the trash bin in front of us, "Come on," he grabbed back ahold of my hand.
"What's wrong?" We were speed walking towards the entrance of Diagon Alley, "Tell me," I urged.
"I'll write you soon," we were now standing in front of the Weasley's store. As soon as he dropped my hand he brought his own to his forearm and began rubbing. Much like Severus did when he was being summoned.
"You have it," I knew my eyes doubled in size. "The dark mark, let me see it,"
"I've got to go," he hissed again, I knew from talk around the Order that the longer you ignored Voldemort's call the worse it got, "I promise I'll write," he leaned forward and quickly pressed his lips to mine before heading towards Knockturn Alley.