When her vision cleared, she saw that she, Ron, and the two Potters- James and Lily, were all in the positions they'd been in when they'd left the hotel. She looked around and was not surprised to find herself on a busy street, in the middle of a crowd of people. At first, the people looked up, surprised, but they were used to people suddenly appearing out of nowhere and soon went back to their own work. She peered at the two Potters, who were looking around them in awe. Hermione breathed a contented sigh. She still remembered what she had felt like when she had found out that she was a witch, the feeling of amazement, fear, and the expected knowledge to come had nearly overwhelmed her.
"Well, Ron? What do you think? Gringotts first and then robes?"
Ron shook his head. "I agree on the Gringotts part, but I think we should get the wands next."
"Hmm." Hermione considered this, rubbing her chin with her wand, which she'd gotten into the habit of doing. She, Ron, and Harry had all gotten into the habit of carrying around their wands wherever they went. "Let's go to Gringotts first, then we can go get wands. But then we will go to get robes." Hermione had gotten into the habit, also, of using a stern voice whenever she told Ron to do something.
She watched as Ron's lips curled slightly on one side. "Fine. And then, we go and get the books. Can't do anything without books."
"And then the cauldron."
"Agreed. Wait! And then ice cream."
Hermione smiled. "Agreed. But we'll have to hurry. I want to get back to Hogwarts and check on Harry."
"Oh, come on, Hermione. Voldemort hasn't shown up in quite a long time. What makes you think he'd show up in the middle of Diagon Alley?" Ron paused as he saw Hermione glance at James and Lily, who were only half paying attention. He understood now. They'd talked about it with Harry. About why they needed to hurry to get James and Lily to safety. What better time to kill them than when they can't defend themselves against magic? Wizards and witches from all over had said that Voldemort hadn't used his full power, yet it had taken his full power for him to possess his own body. Everyone's theory was that Voldemort had expected Harry to beat him again and had taken precautions, using as little as his power as possible to try and kill the Potters. Ron, Hermione, and Harry thought that he was waiting for another time to show himself at his full power, a time when it would do some good. Besides, having witnesses wouldn't bother Voldemort. He'd kill as many people as he could in front of millions of people without even thinking of it. "Then again, I do have to get ready for the new school year." Hermione looked at him gratefully.
The adults led the way through the crowded streets. Ron noticed that more and more people were starting to look at himself and Hermione, and then to the two children. He felt someone tug on the sleeve of his robe, which he had donned while Hermione had put the spell on them to get them here. He turned and looked down, to where Lily was looking at him with those big, green eyes of hers. He kneeled so he could look her eye to eye. "Yes?"
"May we take Brownie and Poison out, Ron? Or do you think people might be scared?"
Ron smiled to himself. He liked the way Lily said his name. He could tell that she tried not to put any extra accent on it, say it as if it were a casual thing to do and as if she did it all the time, but she always failed and ended up putting the most accent on his name.
"No, I don't think they'd be scared. Animals are a common thing to see here."
Lily nodded, smiling, and then she said something that Ron couldn't understand. He saw the spider that had bitten him poke her head out from under Lily's mop of uncontrollable hair. Without thinking, he drew back. He hated spiders. Absolutely hated them. He watched as the spider crawled up Lily's neck, across her cheek, and finally settled on her nose. She giggled and looked at him. "Don't worry. She won't bite you."
Ron shook his head. "It's not that. I'm just not a big fan of spiders. I, uh, had a problem with them when I was young."
Lily nodded and said something that sounded as if she was whispering quietly to herself, but she was staring cross-eyed at the spider the entire time. There was a pause before she looked up at Ron again, grinning. The spider looked at him, seemed to wave one of her front arms at him, and then turned away from him. "She says that she won't even look at you, if it helps. She also said that you should be ashamed for being afraid of spiders. She says it your own fault for upsetting one if you get bit. She always says things like that."
The reply made Ron grin. "She always gives you advice like that? So, I guess she's kind of the motherly type, hmm?"
Lily nodded as they walked, looking around her all the time. "Yeah. My favorite is, 'In the name of Athena, girl,' and then she says something else that almost always changes. But that's when she's in a bad mood; mostly she says things like, 'This is better than having a bird destroy your new web." She doesn't mean that though. She just says it. I guess it's a spider's sense of sarcasm."
"Huh," Ron said, not sure what else to say. He'd never seen someone so close to a spider before.
Later, as he entered the bank, James noticed that something was different about this bank. He looked for the reason and saw that the tellers were so short that they needed the windows to be pulled down a bit. He looked a bit harder at the bank tellers. No, that wasn't brown hair on their heads, those were their heads. "Um, Ron? What's wrong with the tellers?"
Ron looked in the direction of the tellers, confused about what James was talking about. What was different about the tellers? He didn't see anything wrong. Suddenly, Ron laughed as he realized what was wrong. "No, no. They're goblins. Hermione says that muggles only have them in stories."
"Ron is from a wizarding family," Hermione explained. "I'm muggle-born. I have to tell him everything about muggles. It's because he never he took muggle studies when he was in school."
Ron shot her a quick grin, saying, "Shouldn't we show them the main attraction?"
"Oh course!" a stunned Hermione replied. "That's what we came here for, anyway."
Ron shrugged and shoved James and Lily in the backs to get them going a bit. They were looking around at the marble and the people and the goblins in awe. Ron led them to a teller's window and greeted the goblin. "Hey, Pete."
The goblin looked up from his papers, grinning. "Hey, Ron! When's the next Poder game?"
"That's Poker, Pete," Hermione corrected him.
"Oh, yeah. Right." It suddenly occurred to Pete to look down to where James and Lily were watching him in fascination through the slot. Both had green eyes, uncontrollable black hair... They reminded him of- But surely not. He watched as one of James's bangs started to slide. Before the boy could brush it back, Pete had seen the lightning-shaped scar. "For Pete's sake!" he practically shouted. James and Lily quickly pretended to be fascinated by the white marble instead as their faces began to look slightly red. Pete looked at Ron and Hermione with his eyes as wide as they could go. "Surely these aren't-" he looked around hastily. He didn't want the other tellers to get these clients, no sirree. He leaned in closer to the window, making James and Lily move their faces away slightly. "Surely these aren't the Potters?" he asked Ron incredulously in a harsh whisper.
Lily felt the goblin's warm breath completely cover her face. It was a nice kind of warm, though. One that she didn't really mind. She felt Brownie crawl over her cheek, muttering something about saunas.
Pete saw the freckle on the girl's nose move across her cheek and under her hair. "What was that?" he asked her.
"Brownie."
"What's Brownie?"
"She's a spider. My pet spider."
Pete thought about this as Ron and Hermione looked at each other. Pete had heard a lot of things about the Potters. Harry and his parents, James and Lily, had caused quite an uproar, and now these two, the other James and Lily. He'd heard that Harry Potter could talk to snakes. What if- "Can you talk to that spider?" Pete asked slowly.
"Yes."
"Pete," Hermione interrupted. "Sorry to uh, well... We're kind of in a hurry. If we could save the conversation for later, please."
Pete nodded hastily. "Right away, Ms. Granger."
"Hermione."
"Huh?"
"Her name's Hermione," James said again.
Hermione patted him on his back. "It's okay if he calls me Ms. Granger. Actually, with his kind, I think I'd prefer it."
"What do you mean, his kind?" Lily asked her.
Pete snickered as he came around the counter, carrying a heavy set of keys in his hand. "She means that I'm not the best of my kind. You see those other goblins there?" He pointed to the other tellers, who were all pointing at him and finding some way to act rude. Lily nodded, looking at them but not daring to look into their eyes. "They're the older goblins. We call 'em 'The Elders.' I know, it may not seem mean to you, being a child and all. All the adults for you are elders. But with goblins, see, we're going through a transformation. A revolution," he corrected himself, sending a quick glance at Hermione, who was pursing her lips. "We've changed. See? I'm not nearly as proper as the Elders. We aren't really that friendly."
"Then how come you work here?" Lily asked.
Pete shrugged. "My Elder Dad gave me the job. Said he might as well- until they get someone else, that is. Goblins around here aren't necessarily pleased, but they have to put up with it." He grinned sadly at her. "That's the proper thing to do."
Right then, they went through what appeared to be a huge vault in the wall. Hermione and Ron went straight through. Lily looked at James, who raised his head and walked through. She looked at him. He hadn't said anything to her. Not a word. She couldn't believe it. He could obviously tell that she was- um. Kind of scared, and yet he went right on trying to be brave and act as if he knew everything, and he didn't even take the time to say something comforting to her! She angrily went through the door behind him, hoping that it was dark so that if her eyes watered, no one would see. Quietly, She told Brownie what he had done.
That's men for you, girl. Here today, gone as soon as their famous.
Yes, but I suppose I'm just as famous, aren't I? And I'm not acting like that.
Yes, girl. But that's because you're a girl. He's a boy. There's a strong difference.
How so?
How should I know? That's just how it is. Do me a favor. If you see another spider, tell him to say hi to me. I'm getting lonely without any other spiders around.
Yeah, me too. Now that James isn't around to. Remember Jellyweb and Butterhold from home?
Brownie laughed. How could I forget? Jellyweb's webs were always to thick and slippery, and Butterhold couldn't keep his eight legs on a beetle!
Hermione looked at Lily, who was smiling in the dark. Or at least, Hermione thought she was smiling. The light in the elevator was awful, and they hadn't even started yet. Lily seemed to be whispering, and every now and then, she'd giggle. She seemed to be doing okay. Hermione shifted her gaze to James, who was peering into all the nooks and gaps in the wall he could find.
"What's up?" she asked him.
"Nothing. Just thinking. So is this the only bank? Is this the best one? Or what? Poison keeps saying that there are other snakes around, but they don't seem to be nice ones."
Ron grinned. "That's because those aren't snakes. Those are dragons."
"Dragons?" both children shouted, snapping their heads to attention.
"Yep," Pete said happily. He pressed a button, and the elevator started moving downwards. He shouted above the screeching sound of the air rushing past them. "Gringotts has never had anything stolen from it. The dragons help out with that a lot. They breath fire, and I guess that discourages people." The elevator took a quick swerve to the right, then took to more turns at other angles in other directions.
Nearby, James heard something hiss, Are you bad? Are you evil? Are you coming to sssteal? Huh? Are you? Are you?
He shook his head as Poison muttered, Over-anxiousss reptile. Giving usss all a bad name.
Pete finished his talk with a toothy grin, "Can't understand why, though."
The elevator suddenly came to a sudden stop. Lily came crashing down to the ground. She'd been so light and the elevator had been going to fast that she'd been floating, almost. She grinned at Hermione and Ron, who were coming to help her up. "I'm fine. That was fun, too. Can we do it again?"
Ron laughed. Hermione had to send him one of her prized glares to get him to stop. "I guess I ought to hold onto you next time," Ron told Lily. "Just to make sure you don't go all the way to the ceiling."
Pete opened the vault for them. "For Pete's sake! That's all you two've got? I thought the Potters had a fortune!"
Hermione cleared her throat, signaling Pete to shut up. "Their father gave them this for the school supplies. That should be all they'll need for now."
"Ah, yeah. Smart, I guess." Pete waited until Ron had emptied the safe, pouring all the money into a huge pocket in his robe, before he closed it.
"Anywhere else?" he asked Ron and Hermione.
Hermione shook her head while Ron nodded. "Yeah, I want to go to your vault to get all of those IOUs you owe me."
Pete looked quickly at the control panel. "Darn. I would, but it looks like that part of the bank is under construction."
Ron grinned at the back of Pete's head.
When they exited the bank, they headed up the street, to where Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was located. "I guess they don't believe in fashion at school," Lily muttered. Hermione heard her and laughed.
"Ron? Why don't you go with James. I'll stick with Lily."
Ron nodded, not really caring what the plans were, for he was describing the game of Quidditch to James.
When they went into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions store, an old woman greeted them. "Hello, Ron, Hermione." She saw James and Lily. James was looking around, trying to hide the fact that he was surprised by everything and by the plump short woman. Lily, on the other hand, had already decided that she liked this lady and was grinning at her. "Well, well, well. Look at that! I've waited for years to have the Potter children come in here again. They look so much like their father!"
Lily blinked and let her grin grow. James looked at the lady, slightly surprised and showing it. No one had ever said to him that he looked like his father.
"Well, come on. We'll get you two into some robes. Going to Hogwarts, I'll bet."
The two nodded.
"Hermione, you might want to dig around in the ready made for her. I think I have something that a child outgrew before they could wear it on the racks somewhere. A size... one, I think. I'll have to measure the boy, though."
James snickered at Lily. A one! And he had to get measured, too. Boy, he never would have thought that there were so many differences between them. She was always so... excited about everything. Not at all like himself. He could let it sink in and deal with it, but Lily was always asking questions about everything she saw. It was beginning to get tiring. He was glad for an excuse to be away from her for a while. After all, they hadn't been apart for years. Come to think of it, sometimes, she got on his nerves a lot.
Hermione took Lily aside, and the two wandered over to the racks with the robes hanging up. "So do you like your brother?" she finally asked.
"Yeah, sure." Lily paused. She'd answered automatically. Was that a good sign? She was used to the two of them being together, being able to read the other's mind. That was how she wanted it. But earlier in the bank... And then the way he'd snickered at her just now... He was acting so... Different. "Well, I guess he's okay, for a brother and all." Lily thought that was a pretty good answer. After all, she'd overheard tons of kids at school talking about how much they hated their siblings.
"But..."
Lily fidgeted quietly. Should I tell her? she asked Brownie.
You might as well. I think we can trust her. And if we can't... Lily felt Brownie tug on a strand of hair on the back of her neck with her fangs.
"He's just acting different. But then again, how could he not be? I mean, just yesterday, we found out we were getting letters to go to a wizarding school, and now we're here, doing all of this stuff that we'd never dreamed we'd ever do, seeing all of this amazing stuff... How could he not change the slightest bit?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows. James's character had changed more than "the slightest bit." Lily went back to looking through the racks as Brownie crept back to the center of her nose. Lily managed a weak smile as Hermione said, "It doesn't look like you've changed that much, though."
"Well, maybe we just haven't noticed. Maybe it's such a small change that no one really noticed."
"But your brother's was big enough to notice," Hermione accused.
Lily looked back to the robes.
Hermione stood there for a while, watching her as Lily tried to do anything that would keep her from looking into Hermione's eyes. Hermione could tell that deep down, Lily knew that she was lying to herself about her brother. Her excuses were awfully lame. It was as if Lily was trying to call attention to the fact that her brother was changed, and the fact was that she simply didn't want to face the truth of it. Hermione sighed and used her wand to pull out a dark black robe that looked almost as if it were new. The robe floated in the air and twirled slightly in the air. "I think I found you a one."
Lily looked at the robe, watching it swirl in the air gracefully with small pockets of air from the open windows to make the cloth ruffle and billow out a bit. As Hermione watched her, she concluded for sure that this was not the look of someone changed by their surroundings. Lily was watching the robe as it stayed suspended in the air with that same look of awe and amazement that Hermione had seen so much since that morning.
"Why don't you try it on?" Hermione suggested.
"Do you think I should?"
"Well, of course," Hermione said, managing a small laugh. "That's what they're here for, after all. To be tried on. Here." She muttered a word under her breath and the robe fell into Lily's waiting arms. "Now go on. The dressing rooms are over there."
"Thank you." Lily dashed off in the direction Hermione had pointed.
A few moments later, after Hermione had thoroughly disgusted herself with running through the changes in James's attitude, and Harry's well being, the plans she still had to make for her classes, and all the other things she still had to do, she spotted someone else walk into the door. Actually, there were four people. "Neville!" Hermione cried out. She raced up to him and threw her arms around him, glad to see him again. "Are you all right?" she said, after nearly knocking him over. "I haven't seen you in so long, though. And it's so good to see you again, really. How's your back?"
Neville, his blush plastered on his face as if his head were a tomato, played with his wand, running it through his fingers and turning it over, a habit he'd gotten into when he was embarrassed or nervous. "It's fine." Neville looked up, smiling bashfully at Hermione. "And this," he said, waving his wand to the woman next to him, "is Hannah and her son, Doug. He's going to be another first year at Hogwarts this year."
"Really? Well, hello, Hannah. Hello, Doug." Hermione shook hands with them enthusiastically. Neville had come back to Hogwarts every year to visit, and Hermione, Harry, and Ron had finally gotten him to go with them to visit Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts, also someone Neville had always been a bit afraid of. Neville hadn't been the richest wizard in all the world, barely making enough money for himself and his daughter, Becky, to live. Hagrid had offered him a job to help him as groundskeeper, and she, Ron, and Harry had persuaded him to take it. Last year, though, he'd tried to lift something that was too heavy and had hurt his back badly. Madam Pomfrey hadn't let him get up and move around in a long time. Neville had been trying to meet people for a long time now, and Hermione hoped that she hadn't ruined his chances with Hannah by running up to him and hugging him like that.
Hannah moved the slightest bit and gave the girl behind her a slight push forward. Rebecca, always shy, scooted up a few inches and stuck out her hand to her for Hermione to shake.
"My word!" Hermione exclaimed. "Don't tell me that this is Becky!" Gently, Hermione tucked her fingers under Becky's chin and raised it so that Becky would look up at her. Becky did so and saw Hermione's toothy smile. Hermione had done this ever since the moment they'd met, and it seemed to work well. The girl offered a slight smile of her own, a bit of her shyness already dropping away.
"Hello, Professor Granger," she said softly. Becky sent a quick glance to the boy, Doug, as an explanation. She was one of the few others who had permission to call Hermione by her first name- but only in private.
"A new student is trying on robes in the back. Do you think you could check on her? After you've gotten your own, of course."
Becky nodded slowly. Shy as she was, she was always willing to help and could always be counted on to do so. She walked away from the adults and Doug quickly.
"You might want to follow her," Hermione told Doug. "She'll show you to Madam Malkin, and then Madam Malkin will get you measured for your new robes."
Doug nodded and trotted off to catch up with Becky.
"So you're a professor?" Hannah asked as soon as the children were out of sight.
"Yes. I teach the transfiguration class."
"She's an animagus," Neville said proudly.
"What's that?"
Hermione hid a smile. Hannah was obviously a muggle. Brave of her, though, to come into the wizarding world on her own. "An animagus is a person who can turn into an animal."
"It's very complex magic," Neville added. "Only a few can do that."
"I can become a cat, but that's all." Neville always had a habit of making a big deal out of it.
Neville looked at Hannah and beamed. "Ron and Harry- I went to class with them, too- they're animagus, too. Harry can turn into a stag. And Ron can turn into an owl."
"What can you do?" Hannah asked.
Neville blushed again. "I don't really do deep magic."
"He has a daughter to support, so we wouldn't let him," Hermione lied. "He wanted to, though. He wanted to fight Voldemort a lot, but we finally got him to change his mind." She grinned at Neville, who grinned back thankfully.
"Oh. Well? What will the first years be doing at Hogwarts this year?"
Hermione and Neville began to fill her in. Meanwhile, James was being fitted for the robes.
"My," Madam Malkin commented. "You aren't much bigger than a one. Smaller than a two, though."
"Will it cost any extra to have it measured and especially fit?" James asked.
Madam Malkin threw her head back and laughed. James managed a small smile. He was pretty sure that was a no. Madam Malkin supported his thoughts when she got her breath back. "Goodness gracious, no. This will cost just as much as the other robes. All school robes for Hogwarts are the same price."
James nodded, slightly relieved.
Ron sat in a chair nearby, reading a newspaper. James read the headline: "The Daily Prophet."
"What's that about?" he asked.
Ron jumped slightly, for he had been immersed in an article about warnings for the Dark Arts. "What?" he asked, still slightly taken aback.
"That newspaper you're reading. What's it about?"
Ron breathed a sigh. "It's a newspaper about all the things that go on in the wizarding world. A lot of people get it. If you get the chance, maybe you could use some of that money your dad gave you to subscribe."
"I'll think about it," James lied. He wasn't thinking about a newspaper; he was thinking about the freedom he could get here. A whole world of wizards, and he was one of them. He could get away from the Dursleys... He could live here. He could spend his money on things like magic tricks and candy, but he wasn't going to spend his money on little things such as newspapers.
Madam Malkin came, carrying a box full of measuring tape and scissors and cloth. She began measuring him, talking about things such as what she'd heard the first year was like, what the weather was like, how to do things at school. All the while, James stood with his hands straight out from his sides, standing as tall as he could until he doubted he could take it anymore. He didn't seem to notice that the measuring tape was doing the measuring on its own.
Finally, some action besides Madam Malkin's cheerful, one-sided conversations and Ron's newspaper reading happened. A boy walked in. He was about the same size as James, with dark brown eyes and neatly combed brown hair.
"Hey," he said, holding out his hand close enough to James's so he could shake it. "I'm Doug. Who are you?"
"I'm James Potter."
Ron looked up at him but didn't say anything. Neither of boys noticed that nor the way Madam Malkin pursed her lips.
"Nice to meet you. Are you Madam Malkin, ma'am?"
Madam Malkin managed to hide her frown and smile. "Yes I am. But you can call me simply Madam Malkin. The ma'am isn't necessary."
Doug smiled, slightly abashed and muttered an apology.
"If you'd kindly wait over there next to Professor Weasley, please, until I finish measuring this young man."
"You're a Professor? Neat! What do you teach?" Doug went over to occupy the seat next to Ron, and the two of them eased into a deep conversation about magic and school.
James rolled his eyes. So the kid hadn't known who he was. Maybe James was thinking that he was so famous, he automatically thought everyone he met would know who he was. He had apparently been mistaken. That wasn't a big deal, was it? After all, James had been in the background all his life. It wasn't too bad. But he still wanted to be a bit recognized. After all, Ron and Hermione had said that he was famous. Surely they wouldn't have lied to them. James moved just a bit to move his bangs out of his eyes. His hair was growing too long again. Oh, well. He'd just get a haircut. In the meantime, though, he'd just tell people his first name. There wasn't any sense in diving in before he knew anything about what was going on, after all.
In the other dressing room, Lily looked up as a girl, exactly her height, came into the room. "Hi," she said, smiling brightly. "I'm Lily. Who're you?"
The girl hesitated slightly. She'd recognized the black hair, the green eyes, the way the bangs were covering the forehead... For a minute, she had thought that this girl, whoever it was, was Headmaster Potter. But Harry was a boy, so that took that idea right off the list. Still, the similarities were amazing. "Hi. I'm Becky. Becky Longbottom."
"Longbottom?" Lily echoed, smiling slightly. For a second, Becky was afraid she'd laugh, but instead, Lily held out her hand for the girl to shake.
"Are you a first year too?"
"Yeah. Except I've lived at Hogwarts for two or three years now. My dad works there." Becky paused. "What's your last name?"
"Potter. Why?"
"No reason. Just curious." No, the two couldn't possibly be related. Harry would have let something slip by now. She'd known him for so long.
"Ah." Lily tried to tie the robe's ropes around her waist again. "I don't think I'll ever work this out," she muttered.
I can't believe this. I've practically taught you since the cradle, and you can't even tie ropes right. Brownie tutted at her.
I'd like to see you try this, Lily snapped back.
Becky stood still as stone and cocked her head slightly. What had that been? She'd heard Lily mutter, but that last part... Could it be Parseltongue? Harry could do that. Maybe they were related. Becky gathered up all her nerve and looked the girl in the eye. "What was that?" she asked.
Lily looked up at her and remembered suddenly that she and Brownie weren't the only ones in the room. "That? Um, Pro- Hermione and Ron say that it's something called Areanatu, some sort of language of the spiders or something."
"You mean you can actually talk to spiders?" Becky asked, incredulous. She'd only heard tales of such things.
"Uh-huh. Hermione and Ron say that no one has been around who can talk to spiders in two hundred years."
"Yeah, I was always told that it was pretty rare. I always tried it, though. It's fun."
"Want to try it with Brownie?"
"Huh?"
Lily stared at the freckle-like spot on her nose. "Brownie is my pet spider. She'll try- if she likes you."
Becky stared hard at the dot on Lily's nose and realized that it was, truly, in the shape of a spider. She looked closer. "Isn't that one poisonous?"
"I think so. She doesn't bite often, though. And she never kills anyone. Not on purpose, anyway. She bit Ron yesterday."
"Ron! You're kidding!" Becky giggled. She and Ron played a game where they often tried to beat each other at different things. Put-downs, jeering, and insults were included. And unless Becky was mistaken, this counted as ammo.
Becky pulled on her robe over her head, thinking about the chances she'd have talking to a spider. It was a possibility that it would bite her, even if Lily had promised that it wouldn't. On the other hand, spiders had to be threatened, didn't they? She tied her ropes as she'd seen the kids who went to Hogwarts do. Maybe she could at least try.
She looked over at Lily, who was trying time and time again to tie her robe correctly. "Need help?" she asked.
Lily looked at her gratefully. "Thank you."
Becky walked the few steps it took to reach her and took the ropes. She hastily managed to untie the knot Lily had managed to turn the rope into.
You see that? Brownie asked Lily. That is someone who was born with spider in her.
Lily giggled.
Becky looked up at her, searching Lily's face for any sign of oncoming insult, but she saw only innocent giggling. "What is it?"
"Brownie. She says that you have spider blood in you."
"Spiders don't have blood. They have an open circulation system."
"Oh, I didn't mean that. She says that you're someone who has spider in you. I thought that meant blood."
Becky shook her head slowly. She finished tying the knot and tested it. "You should keep it a bit loose, that's what the older kids always say. And then you just stick your wand in your robe and you're ready to go."
"Thanks. Want to try to talk Areanatu now?"
"Not right now. We have to make sure these fit first."
Together they stood in front of the mirror and modeled off their new robes, making sure they were long enough in the right places.
"Now you want to try?"
"Sure."
Lily and Becky sat down in the middle of the floor. Lily explained to Brownie what she wanted, and the spider grudgingly agreed to be set upon the floor for the lessons.
"Okay," Becky said at last. "What now?"
"I don't know. Say something. Whisper it. Try to imitate how I did."
Becky obeyed. She whispered something, the sounds coming out cautiously.
Brownie lifted her small body on her eight legs. Tell her not to call me the fat father of a robin! she yelled at Lily.
Lily fell over, laughing.
"What did I say?" Becky asked, in a mixture of eagerness and fear in her voice.
Between giggles, Lily said, "You called- her- a - fat father-" Becky gasped, "of a- robin!" Lily fell back down, laughing harder.
Becky stared at her. But before she knew it, a small giggle escaped her lips. She had no clue that what she had called Brownie was bad, but Lily's laughter was contagious- and it was kind of funny. She giggled again. In no time at all, they were both rolling around on the floor, trying not to squash Brownie as they laughed so hard that their sides hurt.
Hermione ran in. "What's wrong? What happened?" She was followed closely by Hannah and Neville.
Lily stammered, "She called- Brownie-" she pointed to the spider in the middle of the floor so that Neville and Hannah could understand if they were able to make out the spider shape, "a fat- father of a- ROBIN!" She fell over on Becky, both of them in renewed fits of laughter.
The adults failed to see what was so funny. A moment later, Ron and Madam Malkin came running, both with their wands raised.
"What happened?" Ron shouted. Madam Malkin stood beside him and slightly behind, ready to support him if there was trouble.
"Apparently these three have been taken by a joke," Hermione told him. "Not the crazy, hysterical, laughing kind, but pretty close. I think they'll be fine when they calm down."
Already, Becky and Lily were wiping their eyes. They looked at one another and giggled, but they didn't fall over again. Hermione and Ron helped them get to their feet and then Hermione helped Lily find Brownie.
Right as she was handing Brownie to Lily carefully, James and Doug came jogging up. "What's up with the shouting?" James asked, one part of his robe trailing behind him.
"What kept you?" Lily and Becky asked. Lily was glaring at James much harder than Becky was glaring at Doug.
"He got a pin stuck in his arm," Doug said, indicating James.
"Yeah, we had to get it out before we came, or else I probably would have bled to death. Do you have a problem with that?" he spat at his sister.
Lily considered. "No," she finally muttered.
The room stood silent for quite a while. James and Lily looked away from each other and became interested in their shoes. From time to time, Lily would look at Becky, who was still glaring at Doug, who was returning an equal glare. Hannah was looking at the children thoughtfully. Neville was looking from the children to Ron and Hermione. Ron and Hermione were looking from James and Lily to each other, both slightly surprised and confused. Madam Malkin stared at all of them, making sure all of the cloths fit. She had a good idea what James's size was by now.
In the main room, a high-pitched bell rang and echoed through the air. "I'll get it," Madam Malkin said. She left to take care of the new customer.
"Well," Ron finally said, letting out a breath of air that he hadn't been aware he was holding.
Everyone else in the room unconsciously let loose their breaths also.
"I have an idea," Hermione said with fake enthusiasm. "James, Doug, why don't you two finish getting your robes fitted, and after that, we'll go out for ice cream. Sound good?"
The children nodded without saying anything. James turned and left with Doug following closely behind him. Still without a word, everyone else followed and went into the main room.
"Something tells me that this is going to be an interesting outing," Becky muttered to Lily.
"It will be if all the kids hate each other," Lily answered.
Twenty minutes later, they all found themselves seated in the warm air at the tables in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. The adults had all crowded around one table, talking about their own adult thoughts as James and Doug silently ate their ice cream trying not to look at each other, and Lily and Becky talked about the differences in the muggle and wizarding world.
"I heard that you don't have owls in the muggle world. You know, to send messages to other people."
"Well, we do have owls, but they don't send mail with them. We have mailmen, e-mail, and the telephone."
"Mailmen? Do they fly?"
Lily giggled. "Of course not. They drive around in trucks."
"Oh, yeah. I remember trucks. Dad used to have a silver one. He wrecked it, though. And then we got a red one. He forgot to put the brake on with that one, and it rolled down the hill and crashed into a tree. Then he got this dark green one, but then we came to visit Harry, Ron, Hermione, Professor Malfoy, and all the others. He wrecked that one, too."
"Who's Professor Malfoy?"
"He's mean. He doesn't like Potters, either. I'd be careful with him. He teaches the potions class at Hogwarts. Hermione and Ron always warn me about going down there without someone else. I think they're afraid of him."
"I don't think so. They don't seem like the easily scared types. After all, Hermione, Ron, and that Harry person you mentioned fought Voldemort. And Hermione says that he was the most evil, strongest warlock ever."
Becky gaped. The silence at their table stretched until Lily looked up and saw Becky staring at her. "What?" Lily asked.
"You said his name."
"Whose name?"
Becky squirmed a bit. "His name. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
"Who? Voldemort? What's wrong with saying Voldemort?"
Becky moaned a bit. "You never, ever say his name. He's evil. It's evil."
Lily sighed. "Fine."
Hermione came up from behind them. "We need to get some wands. What do you say, Becky? Would you like to come with us?"
Becky grinned. "And I need a pet, like an owl or something. Dad said we might have enough money this year. Can we stop by the menagerie too?"
"Of course. And Lily, you might want to look, too. Who knows? You might find someone to write to this year. But you'll definitely have to write to Ron and me, so I think you'd better think about it, hmm?"
Lily grinned. "Sure."
The group set off, the adults leading the way. Lily and Becky were right behind them. James and Doug followed behind the girls.
"I'm sick of this," James told Doug, finally ready to speak to the boy. "Why don't we do something else for a change?"
"Like what?" Doug asked, obviously not wanting to.
James pulled on his arm. "Come on," he muttered. He pulled harder until he led was leading Doug. Thankfully, Doug didn't cry out or anything like that. James took a turn onto a street where there were less people. Of course Doug looked back to where the adults and Lily and Becky were walking away, but he didn't do anything. He simply let James pull him along.
They ran down streets until they were sure everything was the street they'd just left. Always, they took the street that had less people to hinder them as they ran. James stepped into another street and halted. The light had suddenly seemed to disappear. It hadn't faded away completely, but everything looked darker and a bit more sinister. Doug caught up with him, panting and laughing a bit at the same time. He stopped when he noticed the light and shivered. The air itself was cooler by degrees. Even James turned so as not to let Doug see that he shivered quickly.
"Kn- Knockturn Alley," Doug stuttered, shaking freely now.