AN: Again, following Canon here, but with many changes! :D hope your still enjoying and, as always, thank you all so much for the interest you're showing in my story! You make this humble author very happy! Thank you.
Know how to live the time that is given you. - Dario Fo
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was like heaven to Sirius, he stood in the shop gaping around at it all as if he could hardly believe it was real. Then he let out a moan of longing and shot off to inspect some interesting tricks. He spent a good long while exploring every inch of the shop, inspecting the merchandise and exclaiming loudly to anyone who would listen about how amazing everything was. Harry watched him in amusement, Sirius had been quiet and unusually sober as they had walked away from Madam Malkin's but now he was here he seemed to have shaken off his melancholy and was now laughing with the Weasley Twins. For a while Harry lost them as Hermione spotted some Patented Daydream Charms, when he next found Sirius it was to see him leaning against the desk where the till stood and talking to a blond witch in magenta robes, she was giggling and blushing and as Harry drew nearer he realised Sirius was flirting heavily.
"I guess you can kiss Heaven goodbye, because it has got to be a sin to look that good." Sirius said with a flash of brilliant white teeth, he held her hand lightly and was looking directly into her eyes as she giggled.
"You're too kind..."
"Unfortunately, I had a spell put on me and it means I can only speak the truth...You are divine..."
"Oh dear..." Harry turned to see George stood at his side. "Is he really using those old chat up lines?"
"It's working!" His twin exclaimed. "Merlin! I need to get tips..."
"Verity smacked me last time I tried it on with her." George looked a little sulky. "Good god! Would you look at that bastard go?"
Harry watched Sirius lean close, seemingly on the pretence of smoothing a strand of hair from her cheek.
"Nah, no one's that good...surely..."
"George, he's showing us up...time to break up the party." Fred moved forwards quickly. "Verity, we have loads of customers, it's really not good business to have them see you flirting in the middle of the shop."
"Oh! Oh...I'm sorry Mr. Wealsey..." She jumped and ran off back into the crowd, Fred smirked evilly and Sirius pouted, drumming his fingers on the wood.
"Spoil sports." He said with a tiny smirk. "I could teach you if you wanted advice..."
"The day we need advice in picking up girls from a sixteen year old is a sad day for the Weasley Twins!" George muttered irritably.
"Ah, so close...I reckon she would've given me her used knickers if you'd given a few more moments."
"That's disgusting..." Harry looked shocked and Sirius laughed.
"I'm joking Prongslet! Calm your pretty little head." He strode over and put an arm around his shoulders. "I could teach you how to do that, you know? Talk properly to the ladies."
"You're way too smooth for your own good..." Harry muttered as he was steered through the crowds.
"Now that is something Prongs would say."
They found the rest of the Weasley's by the window, when they neared Hermione looked up to see Harry laughing loudly with Sirius hanging off his shoulder. "Where have you been?" She asked quietly.
"Oh, here and there..." Sirius said vaguely.
"He was chatting up Verity, our help." Fred said as he materialised from the crowd. "He has some serious skills..." He added bitterly.
Ron turned. "Hey, can you teach me?" He asked.
"Yeah, because ikle Ronnie-kin's needs all the help he can get!" Ron shot his brother a glare as his ears went red.
"It's all about confidence at the end of the day." Sirius said with a shrug, he ran fingers through his hair and a group of girls in the corner glanced at him and giggled. "But, it does help if you look like me." He grinned and Ron looked disheartened.
"Mum, can I have a Pygmy Puff?" said Ginny from where she stood beside a cage full of small balls of fluff that were emitting high pitched squeaking noises.
"A what?" said Mrs. Weasley warily.
"Look, they're so sweet..."
Mrs. Weasley moved aside to look at the Pygmy Puffs, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione momentarily had an unimpeded view out of the window. Draco Malfoy was hurrying up the street alone. As he passed Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, he glanced over his shoulder. Seconds later, he moved beyond the scope of the window and they lost sight of him.
"Interesting..." Sirius muttered softly, he still had a hand on Harry's shoulder but his eyes were scanning the street.
"Wonder where his mummy is?" said Harry, frowning.
"Given her the slip by the looks of it," said Ron.
"Why, though?" said Hermione.
Harry said nothing; he was thinking too hard. Narcissa Malfoy would not have let her precious son out of her sight willingly; Malfoy must have made a real effort to free himself from her clutches.
Harry, knowing and loathing Malfoy, was sure the reason could not be innocent.
He glanced around. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were bending over the Pygmy Puffs. Mr. Weasley was delightedly examining a pack of Muggle marked playing cards. Fred and George were both helping customers. On the other side of the glass, Hagrid was standing with his back to them, looking up and down the street.
"Get under here, quick," said Harry, pulling his Invisibility Cloak out of his bag.
"Oh...I don't know, Harry," said Hermione, looking uncertainly toward Mrs. Weasley.
"Come on," said Ron.
She hesitated for a second longer, then ducked under the cloak with Harry and Ron. There wasn't enough room for all of them, so, while all eyes were elsewhere Sirius ducked his head down and transformed into a dog where he was small enough to slip through the crowds and past Hagrid.
Hagrid didn't even notice the sleek, black dog slipping past him and bounding down the street, Harry and the others followed beneath the cloak.
Padfoot paused to sniff, following the distinct scent of the boy and turning down Knockturn Alley, he could hear the others trying to keep up. He slid stealthily down the dark Alley, nose pressed to the ground until he stopped outside a door and sat down, his tongue lolling out as he heard the soft shuffle of several sets of feet pause beside him. Harry looked up at the shop window and realised that they were outside Borgin and Burkes. Padfoot whinged by his side and his tail thumped the ground, but Harry could see Malfoy speaking to the proprietor. "We need to be able to hear what..."
"Hang on..." Ron dug around in his pockets and withdrew several long, flesh-like strings. "Extendable ears!" He exclaimed happily as they fed them beneath the door.
Harry listened and watched.
"... you know how to fix it?"
"Possibly," said Borgin, in a tone that suggested he was unwilling to commit himself. "I'll need to see it, though. Why don't you bring it into the shop?"
"I can't," said Malfoy. "It's got to stay put. I just need you to tell me how to do it."
Harry saw Borgin lick his lips nervously.
"Well, without seeing it, I must say it will be a very difficult job, perhaps impossible. I couldn't guarantee anything."
"No?" said Malfoy, and Harry knew, just by his tone, that Malfoy was sneering. "Perhaps this will make you more confident."
He moved toward Borgin and was blocked from view by the cabinet. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shuffled sideways to try and keep him in sight, but all they could see was Borgin, looking very frightened.
"Tell anyone," said Maifoy, "and there will be retribution. You know Fenrir Greyback? He's a family friend. He'll be dropping in from time to time to make sure you're giving the problem your full attention."
"There will be no need for-"
"I'll decide that," said Malfoy. "Well, I'd better be off. And don't forget to keep that one safe, I'll need it."
"Perhaps you'd like to take it now?"
"No, of course I wouldn't, you stupid, little man, how would I look carrying that down the street? Just don't sell it."
"Of course not... sir."
Borgin made a bow as deep as the one Harry had once seen him give Lucius Malfoy.
"Not a word to anyone, Borgin, and that includes my mother, understand?"
"Naturally, naturally," murmured Borgin, bowing again.
Next moment, the bell over the door tinkled loudly as Malfoy stalked out of the shop looking very pleased with himself. He passed so close to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that they felt the cloak flutter around their knees again. Inside the shop, Borgin remained frozen; his unctuous smile had vanished; he looked worried.
Harry frowned thoughtfully and felt something tug at the cloak, he looked down to see Padfoot sitting by his feet with his head cocked to one side. "We need to know what he's reserved..." He said quietly, mostly speaking to himself.
"I'll..." Hermione began but she felt a hand on her arm.
"No...you need to know how to deal with these people." Sirius' voice was soft and she jumped back when she realised how close he was. "Let me." He straightened himself out and quickly ran fingers through his hair, glancing at his reflection before striding into the shop. Quickly Hermione, Ron and Harry fed the Extendable Ears back beneath the door.
"Welcome, sir." Borgin said, eyeing Sirius warily. "What can I do for you?"
Sirius looked around the shop, he remembered visiting it with his parents back in his own time and the objects still made him sick to his stomach. He hitched a look of disdain on his face as he eyed Borgin. "Mr. Malfoy was in here not five seconds ago, I want to know what it is he reserved in here." Sirius demanded, Harry almost made a noise of shock at the way Sirius spoke to him. He stood tall, his eyes heavily lidded and so reminiscent of his cousin Harry could feel a twinge of fear.
"And you are...?"
Sirius sneered. "Why would I give my name to you? What are you...a Mudblood?" He let out a humourless bark of laughter. "Of course, look at that face, I'm sure I've seen it somewhere in the filthy streets...Now, answer my question...or else, do you wish to have people know how truly filthy your blood really is, Mr. Borgin?" Sirius' smile became positively evil and the man went white, seeming to forget he had ever asked Sirius for his name. He stepped backwards, eyes darting around nervously, Ron chuckled quietly by Harry's side but Hermione looked afraid. "Well?" Sirius demanded from within the shop.
"I-I...I beg your pardon, sir...b-but Malfoy he..."
Sirius watched the man's eyes intently; his own narrowed to two silver slits. "I see...well, I'm sorry to see that you don't want to tell me...however, I know everything already so I will leave you in peace. Just so you know..." He turned away, his fingers gliding over the shiny surface of the large cabinet. "I'd be careful if I were you, don't go messing with things that are too big for you." He grinned over his shoulder and walked out the door, leaving Borgin looking like a lost fish.
When they had got a good distance away Harry threw off the cloak. "What happened? Why didn't you question him?" He asked as Sirius paused and lit a cigarette.
"Because he wasn't going to tell me anything." Sirius replied with a shrug, but he was smiling as he gazed at Harry through his hair, eyes sparkling dangerously.
"But then..."
"Oh, he didn't tell me anything exactly...but I know what your little friend wanted." His smile widened.
"H-how?" Hermione asked.
"It's all in the eyes, Miss Granger. When someone's afraid they will give away everything if you know what to look for...he kept looking at that large cabinet..." He frowned thoughtfully for a second. "I swear I've seen something like it before..." He muttered.
"That's actually...really clever..." Hermione muttered begrudgingly.
"I can be, when It's needed." Sirius grinned and took a slow drag on his cigarette before crushing it under foot. "Well, let's get going before you're missed." He transformed into a dog and ran off, back towards the Weasley's shop.
When they re-entered it was to find everyone searching for them, Harry slipped around back before removing the cloak and insisting they had all been in the back all along. Malfoy's odd behaviour nagged at Harry, and even his friends disinterest couldn't deter him from wandering what Malfoy wanted with an old cabinet. Sirius listened to his theory's, no matter how crazy sounding, he agreed that it was fishy and that it more than likely had something to do with the fact that his father was in prison, but they couldn't decide what the significance of it was.
One day, towards the end of the holidays Harry sat in Ron's room with Hermione, Ron and Sirius who was lying on Harry's camp bed with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. Ron was tending to his broom while Hermione was reading.
"But what about when he said, 'Don't forget to keep that one safe'?" asked Harry for the umpteenth time. "That sounded to me like Borgin's got another one of the broken objects, and Malfoy wants both."
"You reckon?" said Ron, now trying to scrape some dirt off his broom handle.
"Yeah, I do," said Harry. When neither Ron nor Hermione answered, he said, "Malfoy's father's in Azkaban. Don't you think Malfoy'd like revenge?"
Ron looked up, blinking.
"Malfoy, revenge? What can he do about it?"
"That's my point, I don't know!" said Harry, frustrated. "But he's up to something and I think we should take it seriously. His father's a Death Eater and-"
Harry broke off, his eyes fixed on the window behind Hermione, his mouth open. A startling thought had just occurred to him.
"Harry?" said Hermione in an anxious voice. "What's wrong?"
"Your scar's not hurting again, is it?" asked Ron nervously.
"He's a Death Eater," said Harry slowly. "He's replaced his father as a Death Eater!"
There was a silence; then Ron erupted in laughter. "Malfoy? He's sixteen, Harry! You think You-Know-Who would let Malfoy join?"
"It seems very unlikely, Harry," said Hermione in a repressive sort of voice. "What makes you think-?"
"In Madam Malkin's. She didn't touch him, but he yelled and jerked his arm away from her when she went to roll up his sleeve. It was his left arm. He's been branded with the Dark Mark."
Sirius opened an eye and watched Harry curiously. "I dunno, mate...as far as I know the Dark Lord doesn't recruit kids." But he was frowning thoughtfully, Harry felt a little uncomfortable underneath that intense scrutiny so he stared at his knees.
"Exactly, it just seems...implausible." Hermione said, nodding as if it settled the matter.
"But it makes sense!" Harry insisted, feeling slightly angry that they weren't understanding, that they simply couldn't see what he thought was so obvious. "He overreacts in Madam Malkin's, then he shows something to Borgin who seems afraid...don't you see it?"
"Harry..." Hermione began slowly, but Sirius cut her off by sitting upright, eyes alight with some kind of insane light.
"Greyback!" He said suddenly, his eyes meeting Harry's.
"Who?" Ron asked.
"Greyback...you don't know him?" Sirius frowned, gazing at each of them in turn before sighing and shaking his head. "...Fenrir Greyback is notorious in my time, he's a Werewolf and strong...and he's psychotic! He likes to bite kids, get them while their young and he despises wizards. Thing is, he's joined up with the Dark Lord, and now he's fighting for him...no one knows why...I'm assuming he's still doing it in this time too as Malfoy Junior threatened Borgin with him...but, if the kid knows him, well...that just goes to further your claim, Harry." He shrugged and fell back. "If it's true though, I'd watch your backs. Greyback's mental...every kid's terrified of him..."
"It could have been a bluff you know..." Hermione said uncertainly.
"Hey..." Ron had paused in the cleaning of his broom. "I've just noticed something..." He frowned thoughtfully at Sirius. "I keep hearing you refer to He Who Must Not Be Named as 'Dark Lord'...like a Death Eater..."
Sirius chuckled. "Well, it's force of habit I guess. Also, it's a lot shorter than calling him 'He who must not be named'...remember what my family are." He closed his eyes and sighed softly. "I've heard it so often I suppose I just...picked it up. But in all honesty I don't have a problem calling him Lord Voldemort, if you'd prefer." He grinned as he heard Ron shudder. "I love that reaction, it amuses me."
Harry smiled. "Dumbledore insisted that the fear of a name increases the fear of the thing itself."
"Too true, but that's not why I refer to him by his real name...people fear it, and it's fun to fuck with people."
"That's not very nice, Sirius." Hermione said with a small frown.
Sirius pouted. "Being nice is boring!" He complained loudly. "You sound like Moony! I reckon you're the same person...just opposite sexes. I swear if you'd been born in the same time frame he would have liked you...Intelligent but annoying and with no sense of humour."
Ron snorted but got a kick in the leg from Hermione, Harry hid his smirk by gazing out the window and across the hills but his smile fell quickly when his mind drifted back to Malfoy.