The week separating Draco and his mother from the fake marking ceremony and their true escape from their home passed faster than they thought possible. As soon as the last of their "guest" had left, they went in their bedrooms, grabbed their packed trunks and left.
It was late afternoon, a little past tea time, and Narcissa shrunk both of their trunk to fit in her purse before she took her son's hand and they took the floo powder together. They landed in the Leaky Cauldron, as planned, and hurried outside, in the direction of 93 Diagon Alley. In case nobody was there, Draco would use his double way mirror to call Sirius, but they wanted to be seen by people, it was important that people saw them acting suspiciously, out of character for Voldemort to believe in their plan and going to meet any member of the Weasley family definitly was out of character for them both.
Plus, they knew that they would be watched by some Death Eaters, so they had to act well.
.
Rose had been with Fred and his brother when they signed the paperwork for their joke shop and everyone had immediately started helping them setting up the shop. Remus was there as well, along with the werewolves he had hired. Some decorated following the Weasley twins instructions, other carried boxes, sorted shelves... There was a lot of work to do but they managed to do it fast enough. The entire Weasley family was helping after all.
"Are you sure you want to work there this summer, Love? You could spend your time relaxing..." Fred asked his girlfriend.
"I want to spend as much time as possible with you Fred, if that means working here, then I'm working here. Plus, your magenta uniforms look unexpectedly good on me." Rose replied with a smile.
"Yes it does." he said before he kissed her.
"Now, I think you should put the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder next to the glasses that allows you to see in the dark without using a wand or any other light source. Especially since they can work together, people will be tempted to buy them as a package." Rose suggested.
"You're right. I think we'll place the Extendable Ears over here and the Fake Wands near the cash register." He nodded.
Watching Misses Weasley helping their son set up the store had been funny because she truly wanted to help, but she often frowned in disapproval at the articles she placed on the shelves. She had stayed the entire first day but, the second one, she had decided to stay at home to cook food and clean while Winky took her place and helped out for a few hours (she was still needed to help prepare Tonks and Remus Wedding after all).
.
Harry and Rose had received, that morning, a call from Dudley.
His father had agreed to let him come for a visit as long as he had a way to contact his son during his stay. They promised to let Vernon have a Magic double way mirror and they all agreed that Sirius would pick up Dudley a few days before the twins' birthday and that Petunia and Vernon would pick him up 2 weeks later. They'd take the opportunity to have a little road trip just the two of them and had looked for a hotel to have a romantic weekend on the way. Then, on the way back, they'd take a big detour to go to Marge's place for a few days.
Rose would still work at the store during his stay, just fewer hours. She just wanted to take any opportunity to spend time with Fred while she could and everyone understood this.
.
Everyone was busy inside the store and the front doors were closed, so that people didn't see, from the outside, what the store looked like before it opened. They had placed large pieces of cardboard to hide the windows. They were surprised when, at the end of the afternoon, they heard a loud knock on the double front door. They had known to expect a visit here in the few days before the grand opening but they had all been so taken with their tasks that it had surprised them a lot.
"It must be them. They said they'd come here if they thought they were being followed." Sirius whispered.
"Draco did say that it should happen at during the first 2 weeks... I just hope they were able to get out before he was marked..." Rose whispered back.
"Or that they managed to convince Voldemort not to mark him and to let him run away as a strategy." Remus frowned.
"You should go and open for them then." George told him and the head of the Black family nodded, going to open the door, confirming that it was indeed his cousin and her son, running away from Death Eaters.
He opened the door and let them walk inside before he closed the door back up. The first few minutes were tense and Harry wondered when was the last time Sirius and Narcissa had seen each other, been in the same room without fighting.
"Thank you for doing this, Sirius." The blond woman said after greeting everyone briefly.
"Of course, everyone deserves to be on the right side and to feel safe." Sirius nodded.
"Were you able to leave before they marked you?" Harry asked Draco.
"Yes, mother managed to convince the Dark Lord that allowing me to escape before I was marked would protect my cover and that it would allow me to spy on you all much easier." Draco replied.
"That's great!" Rose exclaimed.
"I hope our presence isn't too much of an imposition..." Narcissa declared, not quite sure of what she should be doing with herself.
"Of course not. You'll be staying at the Headquarters. You'll have lots of passage from Order members, and you'll be able to floo to Andy's place or mine, though all others have been blocked. Of course Kreacher will be there too." Sirius replied.
"You'll have to make a magical oath not to betray us or anything you see or hear there, that's the only way most of them would trust you, but it's a small price to pay considering..." Remus added, throwing a small look Draco's way and Narcissa nodded.
"Of course. I also brought something that could be useful to you, the Order I mean... The Dark Lord will continue to use Malfoy Manor for his meetings, maybe he'll even move in now that we're gone. There are 2 portraits of Armand Malfoy at the manor, one in the master bedroom and one in the living room. He hasn't visited in a while, because he doesn't like the Death-Eaters and he probably likes hanging out at the Ministry much more, but I took the one from the bedroom, nobody will know it's missing. He only answers to the Malfoy heir, but I'm sure if Draco calls him and asks him to help and spy, he will. I figured it would help show that you can trust me, or at the very least help you find valuable information that will help you win and free Draco faster." Narcissa explained.
"That's great!" Remus smiled.
"I'm sure Dumbledore will be thankful. We'll discuss all of this once we're back in the headquarters, it'll be better. Anyway, Draco, you won't have to stay locked up there all day, you'll be able to visit our place. Headquarters doesn't have a garden and you'd feel a bit lonely there. Spending the entire summer there would be enough to drive you crazy, trust me, I've been there." Sirius explained.
"Well, we're about done here for today anyway." Fred declared.
"Why don't we bring them to Headquarters, Albus should be there by now." Remus nodded.
"Yes, and once they're settled in, we'll all meet back at your place for dinner. Molly has been preparing everything." Arthur added.
"How is it coming along here?" Draco asked, seeing lots of empty boxes and half full shelves.
"We'll be ready for the great opening. Hiring Remus and a few people before we even signed was a great idea." George replied.
"I've heard that you're hiring werewolves, is that true?" Narcissa asked, speaking directly to a Weasley for the first time in a long time.
"Yes, Rose provides them with Wolfsbane potion. They need a job and we figured it would be a good way to help the Order. Maybe werewolves will think twice before joining Voldemort if we give them a chance." Remus replied as the twins nodded.
"It has frustrated the Dark Lord a lot, Greyback too. They have a lot less recruits than they expected." Narcissa replied with a small smile.
After that, they locked things up at the store and they all went their own way. Harry and Rose left with the Weasley while Sirius and Remus escorted the two Malfoy's to Headquarters. They had them pledge an oath to protect the Order from secret spilling and took them to the right place. There, Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody were waiting for them. After showing them their bedroom and watching Kreacher welcome them, they went in the kitchen where Narcissa carried Armand Malfoy's painting.
Her present was greatly welcome by Albus Dumbledore, especially after Draco called Armand Malfoy and the man in the portrait agreed to help them by spying for the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore took the time to explain that the chimney would only allow them to floo to a few trusted places.
"I... I feel like I should warn you, though you probably already know, but... The Dark Lord is trying to find a way to break his followers out of Azkaban. He's having a hard time it seems, but he will do it... He always finds a way." Narcissa added before Albus left.
"We figured as much... We just have to hope that the new measures will be enough for him to stay away." Albus nodded.
After that, the two Malfoys took the floo to the Marauder's lair for dinner so that they wouldn't be too lonely for their first evening. Narcissa knew that the months, year to come wouldn't be easy for her. Even though the house would always have Order member visiting, they wouldn't be much company and she wouldn't be able to step out unless it was to go to her sister's house, but she knew that it was worth it. She had taken a lot of books she had been wanted to read for a while and she hoped she'd be able to do something useful of her time eventually.
What did you think?
I NEED TO NAME SOMEONE. I'm writing a chapter where hermione goes clubbing, during the summer, with her muggle cousin. A girl, a bit older than Hermione (18 or 19). What should I call her? All suggestions welcome.
Review please!
Lorelei Candice Black