The first few days of Harry, Samantha, and Lauren's stay at The Leaky Cauldron were calm. Samantha sent a very long letter to Max the next morning explaining everything that had happened, and where she was now. She sent a similar letter to Leslie, and a few short ones to other friends of hers, but those stayed mainly on the topic of meeting in Diagon Alley, and not on what Samantha had gotten up to those past few days.
While Max had responded with excitement at the fact that Samantha was in Diagon Alley, and his wish that Samantha had taken a picture of her Aunt on the ceiling, and an eagerness to ride the Knight Bus someday, Leslie had not been so thrilled. She was, of course, excited that Samantha was in Diagon Alley, but she had thought it irresponsible to just up and leave like that, especially when Sirius Black was on the loose.
However, one thing both of them did agree on was that they would meet Samantha a few days later in Diagon Alley, just to have a day for the three of them before everyone would be together in a few weeks.
Slipping into a routine was easy for Samantha. She, Harry, and Lauren would meet for breakfast around the same time every morning, and would talk amongst themselves while watching the other guests at the pub, seeing what interesting things they would do today.
After that, they would head out to the back, where one of them would use their wand to open the passage to Diagon Alley, which they would wander around all day, sometimes together, sometimes separate, going into whichever shops they pleased.
It was two days in when they once again heard the mention of Sirius Black while together, and Samantha suddenly remembered something she had wanted to tell her siblings.
"I need to talk to the pair of you," Samantha told them suddenly as they walked through the crowds of wizards. Harry and Lauren gazed at each other, then looked back at their older sister. Samantha scanned the area. "Over here." She directed them towards a hidden alleyway between some shops where no one would pay attention to them.
"What is it?" Lauren asked, her red eyebrows furrowed.
"I remembered that I know something about Sirius Black," Samantha confessed.
"How?" Harry asked immediately, looking very confused.
Samantha hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to word what she needed to say. "A few years ago, I saw… one of Snape's memories."
"You can do that?" Lauren asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes, you can," Samantha answered, nodding. "There's this thing called a Pensieve, it's pretty neat. But, that's not the point. The point is, Sirius was in that memory. Not in jail, not as one of Voldemort's supporters. He- he was there with our dad, with James."
Lauren's eyes had grown even wider, making her look like a deer in headlights. Harry just looked confused.
"It… well, I don't remember it perfectly. But Sirius and James were together, and they were friends," Samantha revealed. She kept it purposely vague, hoping neither Harry nor Lauren would ever have to see their dad hang Snape upside down in front of the whole school.
"Woah," Lauren said softly.
"What do we do?" asked Harry, looking concerned but also ready to fight.
"I don't know what there is to do," Samantha replied, curious as to what her brother meant. "They knew each other in school, and then Sirius turned into a madman, somehow. We can't do anything."
"Why did you tell us, then?" Harry demanded, his jaw tightening.
"I thought you should know," Samantha stated, her voice going cold.
"Harry, she's just trying to help," Lauren said, and with a jolt, Samantha realized that Lauren's hand was on her arm. She stepped away, covering the spot Lauren had been touching with her own hand. Lauren looked Samantha sadly in the eye as she pulled her velvet gloves over her fingers again.
"I just don't get why you would tell us that if it means nothing," said Harry stubbornly. "It's supposed to make us feel better to know that our dad was friends with one of the biggest Voldemort supporters ever?"
"I didn't tell it to you as a good thing. I was just telling you. You don't have to be so angry about it," Samantha snapped back, rolling her eyes. "I'm going. You two have fun," she said, and stomped off, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked away from her siblings and joined the group of wizards in the middle of the street.
She walked along with the crowd until she got to the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron, which she walked inside. Samantha wasn't sure what made her do it, but she hid behind a wall until Tom the innkeeper was busy and surely wouldn't notice her, and that was when she slipped out of the entrance and into Muggle London.
Something about breaking rules always made Samantha feel a rush of excitement. The thrill was unmatched, and that was why she kept on doing it. So, being out on the sidewalk of Muggle London, against the wishes of the Minister of Magic himself, made Samantha feel much, much better.
Samantha walked around for a while, just looking at a few shops along the streets. She didn't have any Muggle money, and she doubted anyone would let her pay in Sickles, Knuts, and Galleons. She wasn't even sure of the conversions from wizard money to Muggle money.
Eventually, Samantha snuck back into The Leaky Cauldron, and upstairs to her room, where she stayed until dinner, which she ate quietly at the same table as her siblings. They didn't have much of a conversation, Harry still bitter from their earlier conversation. Samantha still believed Harry was just being annoying, but she didn't point that out.
"Where did you go?" Lauren asked, spooning some soup into her mouth.
"Just in my room," Samantha lied, knowing Lauren would make a big deal out of it if Samantha confessed to going into Muggle London.
Leslie and Max arrived at the same time the next day, just after Samantha had finished breakfast.
"Oh, it's so good to see you!" Leslie cried when she first spotted Samantha, and rushed over, her arms open wide, embracing Samantha in a tight hug.
Samantha reciprocated the hug, grinning from ear to ear. She hadn't realized how much she had missed Leslie until she was reminded just how amazing Leslie truly was.
"I missed you so much," Samantha said once the two girls had pulled away from each other and were now just smiling at the other. Samantha was a few inches taller than Leslie still, but Leslie seemed to have caught up slightly.
"I missed you too," Leslie agreed, biting her lip as she smiled.
Max walked forward slower than Leslie had, and stood a few feet behind Leslie, watching Samantha over her shoulder. Samantha looked to him, meeting his eyes. A smile slowly spread onto her face.
"Hi," she said softly, giving him a small wave.
"Hi," Max repeated, grinning.
Samantha walked quickly over and hugged him as well, ending it with a quick kiss. She then stood next to him, her arm still around him.
Leslie, Max, and Samantha had the time of their lives running around Diagon Alley unsupervised. They went into shops selling interesting-looking wizarding trinkets, and the three of them had to practice much self control in order to not purchase useless items. For lunch, they stopped at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor and had chips along with their sundaes, which were as delicious as always.
That evening, they returned to the Leaky Cauldron, where they had dinner with Leslie's mom and brother, Jack, and Max's parents and his sister Margot.
"Margot, what year are you going into again?" Leslie asked, looking curiously at her. Margot seemed to just be getting consistently prettier, her sleek dark brown hair pulled into a french braid at the back of her head, her skin perfectly tanned, her makeup applied just to enhance her already perfect features.
"Sixth," Margot answered.
"Sixth is where it really starts getting extra hard," Jack commented, having just finished his seventh year in June. Samantha was constantly surprised by how similar Jack's features were to Leslie, even though their only shared parent was their mother. Although his hair was light brown and hers was platinum blonde, their faces would allow them to pass off as twins.
"I think I'll be able to handle it," Margot replied.
"What classes are you going to take?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrows slightly.
"Defense, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Ancient Runes, and Arithmancy," Margot answered.
"What career are you looking into?" Leslie's mom asked, curiously looking to Margot.
"Curse breaker for Gringotts," replied Margot as she took a sip of her water. "Although, after a while of that I might want to move on to doing the training, or possibly a Professor at Hogwarts."
"So you're adventurous," Jack said, but it was more of a statement than a question.
Margot's whole family nodded, her parents looking exasperated. Samantha guessed Margot had been as wild of a toddler as she had been, and it had probably tired her parents out.
Leslie had to go home the next day, as she was visiting her father for a few days, but Max was able to stay. His parents had to go into work, as they were Aurors and out on the hunt for Sirius Black, but they left Margot to keep Max from getting into trouble, with their only instructions being to keep out of Muggle London.
Margot had made plans with someone, so after eating breakfast, she left Samantha and Max to themselves, just saying to listen to whatever her parents had said. Harry and Lauren had gone to Diagon Alley together already, so Max and Samantha were alone.
"Let's go to Muggle London," Samantha said to Max once she was sure no one could hear them.
"I was just about to suggest that," Max replied.
The two of them made sure that no one could see them as they slipped out of the Muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, and they quickly integrated themselves into the crowd of people passing by, hoping no one had noticed that they had just come out of a building that didn't exist to their eyes.
"Where should we go?" asked Samantha looking up and down the street.
"Do you have anywhere you like to go while you're here?" Max asked.
Samantha shook her head. "Yesterday was the first time I've really been out here. You think the Dursleys ever took us to London?"
Max's eyes widened, and he looked at Samantha with a mixture of genuine and mock surprise. "You've never been around here?" he asked. Samantha shook her head again. "Well, we have to do everything, then."
"Everything?" Samantha asked, laughing.
"Everything," Max nodded. "Come on, we'll start with the classics. Big Ben is only a quick walk," he said, and began walking in the direction he knew to go in.
A smile spread over Samantha's face as she walked alongside him, excited for their day of adventure.
It turned out Max had brought Muggle money, so after Samantha got her first in-person glance at Big Ben ever, they went into a few shops along the street, leafing through books and rummaging around a candy store.
"What is that stuff?" Max asked, looking at the handful of sweets Samantha had after exiting the candy store, having bought them with the money she and Max had divided.
Samantha shrugged. "Never tried it. I've seen Dudley eat it, though, and I've always wanted to try it. Now I can," she said, smiling.
Max grinned back, and the pair found a bench to sit on while they tried the various candies. He took a bite of the Cadbury Time Out bar, and his jaw dropped.
"This is so good," he said, looking at Samantha. "Why don't we have these? Honeydukes could make a fortune selling these."
Laughing, Samantha tossed her hair out of her face. "I don't know," she replied. "Can I try some?"
She was handed the bar, which she took a bite from, her eyes widening as she chewed. "Now I get why Dudley loves these so much," she said, looking at the simple chocolate bar.
They made their way through tasting the different sweets, and Max purchased a bag to keep the leftovers, and whatever else they bought that day, in. With the bag slung over Samantha's shoulders, they walked around a bit more before taking a quick cab ride to the London Eye, which Max insisted on.
Eventually they had made it on, and Samantha watched their surroundings in awe from the windows.
"This is incredible," she gushed to Max.
"Isn't it?" Max replied.
The pair watched as the people below grew smaller, tuning out the conversations of those around them and instead just focusing on the buildings they now seemed to be as high as.
"This makes me miss Quidditch," Samantha whispered to Max. "Being in the sky, all the people looking like ants, above the castle…" she sighed, a faint smile on her face as she watched the scenery and thought of flying on her broom
"Just a few more weeks until school starts again," Max reminded her quietly. "But this is one of the best feelings in the world," he agreed.
When the ferris wheel made it to the peak of its height, and they were as high above the ground as they were going to get for a while, Samantha leaned in and gave Max a quick kiss, smiling at him after.
"Hard to do that while on brooms," she whispered before pulling all the way back to where she was before.
With money leftover afterwards, Samantha and Max went into a clothing shop, just to look around and see what they could find.
"I've just realized this is the first time I've been in a Muggle clothing shop and actually been able to get something," Samantha commented, looking around at the shop full of clothes the Dursleys would never dream of buying for her.
"Get whatever you want," said Max, grinning.
And then the two of them went through the whole shop, grabbing items they wanted and occasionally picking things out for the other. After that, they stopped at a small restaurant where they had a quick meal, both hungry from their day of walking around.
It was when it was starting to get noticeably darker out that Samantha realized they had a problem. She looked down at her watch and nearly passed out.
"Merlin, Max, look at the time!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.
His eyes widened as well as he looked down at his own watch. "Do you think they noticed that we're gone?" he asked Samantha.
"It'd be a miracle if they didn't," Samantha replied. "Come on, we've got to get back."
As quickly as they could, they called a cab and got in, directing it to Charing Cross Road. When they arrived, Max didn't bother to count out his money, instead just throwing the remainder to the driver and running off, past the people and to the entry of The Leaky Cauldron.
They stopped in front of it. Samantha turned to Max. "Whatever happens in there, I had the best day today," she told him.
Max nodded. "So did I," he replied, and without another word, the pair stepped inside.
It took a second for anyone to notice them, but when they did, there was a scream, and suddenly someone was running over.
"They're back!" Max's mom shouted throughout the pub.
Before she knew it, Samantha was surrounded by a large group of people, looking at her and Max with expressions ranging from pitiful to angry to thankful.
"Merlin, where were you?" Max's mom, Aurora, asked angrily.
Looking terrified of his mother, Max mumbled, "Just in London."
"And why," Max's father, Joseph, cut in, "would you go there after we, and in Samantha's case the Minister of Magic, told you explicitly not to?"
Max didn't answer, his mouth remaining closed and his eyes opened wide.
"It was my idea," Samantha said. All eyes turned from Max to her. "Max wanted to go to Diagon Alley, but I convinced him to go into Mugle London, because I hadn't been before, and I wanted to see it, and we're right here."
The adults exchanged glances, and Samantha got that feeling once more that someone was in her head, the same feeling she got when she was in Snape's class. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on shoving someone out of a door in her head. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again, seeing that everyone was still watching her.
"I don't like people in my head," Samantha said, quietly but darkly. She then bit down on her lip and said, "I'm sorry. I won't break the rules like that again." It was a lie, of course. Samantha knew she would soon enough be sneaking away as she always did.
"No, you will not," Fudge said. Samantha whipped her head up, noticing for the first time that the Minister of Magic was there as well. "Because now, someone will be watching you at all times, to make sure you don't pull something like this again."
Samantha's mouth fell open, but she shut it quickly, huffing. "Even while I sleep?" she asked angrily.
"There will be a spell on your door that will alert Tom when you leave," Fudge retorted.
Sighing, Samantha crossed her arms, angry that people were so mad at her and Max for breaking such a small, insignificant rule. They had just wanted to have fun, after all.
"Max, we're going home," Aurora told her son, grabbing his arm. "And you're not coming back in a few days for that group thing you wanted to do, either."
"But Mum-" Max protested, looking back at Samantha.
"No buts, Maxwell. You heard your mother," Joseph said, following his wife, son and daughter as they walked out of the pub.
Her face growing hot, Samantha pushed past the people who had been circled around Max and herself and ran up the stairs to her room, where she threw the backpack and bag of clothes against a wall before collapsing onto her bed and sobbing into her pillow.
The rest of her stay at Diagon Alley was not nearly as entertaining as the first few days had been. Samantha spent much of it locked in her bedroom, and wasn't half as enthusiastic about meeting all of her friends there as she should have been. People just seemed to be constantly surrounding her, and she always felt as though she was being watched.
She barely even cared when Harry showed her the new broom that had come out, which was apparently the fastest broom on the market.
The assistant at Flourish and Blotts had nearly passed out when their group had requested five copies of The Monster Book of Monsters.
"I'm never stocking these again," he grumbled as he handed the final rambunctious, biting book over to Ellie, who took it and wrapped it in the headband she had been wearing.
It was the day before term started that the Weasleys finally made an appearance. Harry, Lauren, and Samantha were walking around Diagon Alley, looking for somewhere to eat lunch when someone shouted out to Harry. All three of them turned around and spotted Ron and Hermione sitting at a table at Florean Fortesque's ice cream shop. The siblings rushed over and took seats at the table next to them.
"Finally! We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you all had left, and then we tried Madam Malkin's and Flourish and Blotts, and-" Ron said.
"We got our school stuff last week," Harry explained. "And how did you know we're staying at the Leaky Cauldron?"
"Dad," Ron answered.
"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" Hermione asked, sounding disapproving.
"He did," Samantha cut in, "and he got less of a punishment for that than I got for spending a day in Muggle London," she finished bitterly.
"To be fair, you were specifically told not to do that by Max's parents and the Minister of Magic himself," Lauren reasoned.
"Sam, there's a killer on the loose!" Hermione exclaimed as Ron laughed.
"And? Neither of us were killed," Samantha responded, stealing the cherry off of Hermione's ice cream and popping it into her mouth. "Besides, you'd think Harry would get a bigger punishment for blowing up Aunt Marge than I would for breaking one small rule and exploring Muggle London."
"Really, I'm surprised the pair of you haven't been expelled yet," said Hermione.
"Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested," Harry said. "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?"
Ron shrugged, scoping some ice cream into his mouth. "Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it? Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too! So you can come to King's Cross with us tomorrow! Hermione's there as well!"
Hermione nodded, a big smile adorning her face. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things," she informed them.
"Excellent!" exclaimed Harry. "So, have you guys got all your new books and stuff?"
"Look at this," Ron said, pulling a long rectangular box out of a bag at his feet and opening it. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books. What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted two."
"He looked murderous when we asked for five," Samantha said.
"What's all that, Hermione?" Harry asked, motioning to the extra bags at Hermione's feet.
"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" Hermione replied. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, the Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies-"
"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" Ron asked. "You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! You already know all about Muggles!"
Samantha glanced at Hermione, sharing an eye roll with the girl. "I took Muggle Studies last year, and I'm taking it again this year. It's interesting to learn about them from a wizard's perspective."
"See!" Hermione said, gesturing to Samantha. "Complain to her, not to me."
"I don't know how you two do it," Harry said. "How do you have any time to eat or sleep? You must have loads of homework."
Shrugging, Samantha replied, "I make time. Do it in Binns' class, during meals, learn how to perform a spell to reduce exhaustion, the sort."
"Anyway, I've still got ten Galleons," Hermione said, looking inside one of her bags. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."
"How about a nice book?" Ron said, winking at Harry.
"No, I don't think so," Hermione replied. "I really want an owl. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig, and Sam's got Athena, and Ron, you've got Errol-"
"I haven't," Ron cut in. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers," he said as he pulled the old rat out of his pocket. "And I want to get him checked over. I don't think Egypt agreed with him."
Samantha looked at the rat Ron had placed on the table, which looked not at all healthy. Patches of his fur were missing, and the parts that were still there were tousled and thin and looked a mess.
"He doesn't look at all well," Lauren said, examining the rat closer.
"There's a magical creature shop just over there," Harry told them. "You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl."
So, after Ron and Hermione paid for their ice cream, the five kids walked over to the shop just across the street.
The pet shop was familiar, with all possible space inside taken up by cages of owls, cats, toads, and other animals, including a tortoise with a glittering shell, neon orange snails, large white rabbits, and suspicious-looking ravens.
"Look at those kittens!" Lauren said as Ron walked up to the counter to ask the lady about Scabbers.
"Aw, those are adorable," Samantha replied, looking at the little ragdoll kittens with their big, bright blue eyes. They were all curled together, tiny meows coming from their mouths.
They then looked at a large black cat, who batted at them with his paw to be pet. It was very cute, although he almost scratched Lauren with his sharpened claws.
Suddenly, there was a scream from Ron, and Samantha and Lauren turned around just in time to see a large orange cat jump off of Ron's head and towards Scabbers, who was held in the woman behind the counter's hands.
"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" the lady yelled, but it was too late- Scabbers had already escaped her grasp and scrambled out of the pet shop.
"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, and ran out of the pet shop after him, Harry following behind.
"Should we go after them?" Lauren asked, staring after the two boys.
"They'll catch him," Samantha replied with a shrug. She didn't feel like chasing a sick rat through the streets of Diagon Alley.
"Excuse me?" Hermione said to the lady behind the counter. She pointed to Crooshanks, the cat that had just run after Scabbers. "Could I get that cat?"
I am fully aware this is a strange place to end the chapter, but I want to be done and it's already pretty long, so I'm going to leave it here. Have a good day!