Author's Note: Enjoy!

Sweetening the Deal

"Can you read this for me," Sirius asked AJ as they sat in their shared bedroom with a chocolate frog box each. Sirius was holding out the card to his older brother as he could not yet read them on his own.

The older boy plucked the card from his brother's hand before reading the name on it, "you got Helga Hufflepuff."

"But I already have her," Sirius whined.

"Yeah well, that's how chocolate frog cards work," explained AJ. "You're going to get repeats sometimes."

The four year old still looked upset but nodded, "who did you get?"

"Devlin Whitehorn," stated AJ. "I actually don't have him, so that's cool!"

"I don't have him either," Sirius told him with an expecting look.

"Good for you," said AJ, unamused.

"Can I have it," asked Sirius, jutting out his lower lip. It was almost laughable to AJ.

"No," said AJ, annoyed, "I'm making a card collection too."

"Please," whined Sirius. "I'll do anything!"

AJ smirked, "anything?"

"Yes," said Sirius.

"Fine. Go get me a glass of apple juice from the kitchen."

Sirius nodded before climbing off of AJ's bed and leaving their bedroom. The sounds of his feet pattering against the ground could be heard from down the hallway. He returned a few minutes later with a mostly full glass.

"Can I have it now?"

"Go and get Hope's blanket, you know, that really soft light green one. Oh! And some of her vinyls. Do it quick before she comes back upstairs!"

Once again, Sirius ran down the hallway and opened Hope's bedroom door. He came running back with the blanket and two vinyls- one by the Cranberries and the other the Wallflowers.

"Cool! Give it here."

Sirius handed the vinyls to AJ who walked them over to the record player on their dresser. He took the Wallflowers' vinyl out of its star covered packaging, and put it on the record player. The musics began to play and fill the room.

AJ turned back to his brother, "dad has a stash of candy in his desk drawer, go and find some."

"Then can I have the card?"

"Yeah, sure," AJ responded non-committal. Once again, Sirius ran down the hallway before returning with loads of different candies, mostly chocolate, gathered in his arms. "One more thing..."

Sirius looked at him annoyed, but did not argue about getting another request.

"Go get Ted's laptop."

"Why?"

"So we can watch a movie!"

Sirius left the room and went down the hallway, once again, although slower this time. He came back in with the silver laptop in his hands.

AJ opened it, only to be met with the password screen. He looked to Sirius, "do you know his password?"

Sirius shook his head, "but what about-"

AJ began to type in several different ideas such as tlupin14, hufflepuff4, and even password.

"AJ-"

"It can't be that hard to figure out," AJ said to himself, typing in another guess.

"AJ-"

"That's not it..."

"AJ!"

He snapped his back around to look at his brother, "what?"

"Where's the card?"

"Huh? Oh...I'll give it to you later-"

"BUT YOU SAID I COULD HAVE IT NOW," yelled Sirius. "WHERE IS IT?"

"Give me a minute, would you," AJ pleaded.

"NO! GIVE IT NOW!"

Their bedroom door opened again, revealing Hope in the hallway, "which one of you poured yourself juice, spilled it everywhere, and did not shut the fridge?"

"I only did it cause AJ made me," Sirius accused.

"AJ made you?"

"Yeah, he got a chocolate frog card that I wanted, and then he told me that he would give it to him if I did things for him, but now he won't give it to me," explained Sirius.

"Give him the card, AJ," said Hope.

"Alright," relented AJ as he reached into his pocket and gave Sirius the card. "I don't have him either, though!"

"I have like seven Whitehorns," said Hope as she read the small card in Sirius's hand. "You can have one."

"Really," asked AJ, wide eyed. "Where is it?"

"Ah, first you got to put all this stuff back where it was," said Hope. "Come find me when you do, and stop taking my stuff!"

wc: 725

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