Warnings: Slight slashy content begins in this
installment. Don't like it? Don't read.
Disclaimer: Not mine, JKR's. She's a genius. She's a
goddess. She doesn't mind fanfiction. ^_^V
A/N: I had meant for Chapter 1 to be a one-shot, but it
appears it's going to have to come in parts, or it would
be months between updates. This fic has snowballed on me
and is going to end up much longer than I had anticipated.
Thank you all for your reviews, and those of you who did
not review, thank you for reading. To Mordor: Chill, dearie
- the slash hasn't even started yet. It's all good.
~TSUZUKU~
Gringotts was a huge white building, much taller than the
shops up and down Diagon Alley. On its steps sat three
teenage boys, eating ice cream and talking about
broomsticks. One of them happened to glance to his left,
spotting Remus in the crowd.
"Moony!" he cried. Remus felt his heart give a funny lurch
as he met the boy's eyes. "It's about time you got here!"
Remus grinned. "No time was specified, Padfoot. It's still
Friday, isn't it? Hi Prongs, Wormtail."
"Hi Moony," replied James and Peter.
The four of them went into Gringotts and took money out of
their vaults.
"Where shall we go first?" Sirius asked, rubbing his hands
together. "Flourish and Blotts for our schoolbooks? - and
later we could hit the Magical Menagerie..." There was a
glint in his eye that promised mayhem. Remus had learned to
both love and loathe that glint.
"Why are we going to the Menagerie?" he asked warily.
Sirius winked conspiratorially. "It's all part of my plan,"
he said.
"Of course." Remus paused. "But what exactly *is* this
plan?"
"You'll see," was all Sirius would say.
James rolled his eyes. "I definitely think we should go the
the Menagerie last. I don't want to be lugging whatever
Padfoot wants us to buy round to all the shops all day;
someone might see us with it."
"Good point," said Peter. "Incriminating evidence and all
that rot."
"Exactly," said Sirius. He set off toward Flourish and
Blotts, and the others followed. It was a simple task to
find their textbooks; they only needed _The Standard Book
of Spells, Grade 6_ and a _Supplemental Text for Advanced
Potions Study_. They stood in queue for no less than
fifteen minutes, paid, and headed to the Leaky Cauldron for
a bite.
When they had eaten, they headed down the street to the
Apothecary for their Potions supplies and then to the
Magical Menagerie.
"All right, Padfoot," said Remus at length, "what are we
buying?"
Sirius gestured them all in closer. "A boggart," he
whispered.
"A which?" asked Peter.
Sirius' eyes were dancing, making him look very nice
indeed. "It's a shapeshifter that takes the form of your
worst fear when you confront it."
"What are we meant to do with *that*?" James asked.
"We are meant," Sirius replied, "to smuggle it to school
and put it under Snape's bed."
"Brilliant!" said Peter. "Absolutely fucking smashing!"
"I don't know about all that," said Remus. "How are we
going to get it there?"
"'How are we going to get it to Hogwarts' or 'how are we
going to get it under Snape's bed'?" asked Sirius.
Remus pondered. "Well, both, really."
"They're not all that large," said Sirius. "I thought we
could bring it in someone's trunk, and he could put his
things in with the rest of ours; then we could keep it in
a disused closet somewhere when we'd got to school."
"All right," said James. "And then...?"
"And then..." said Sirius, pausing dramatically. "We come
up with a plan as to how to get it under Snape's bed."
Remus groaned. "How if we can't think of a way?"
"We'll think of something," said Peter, trying to sound
confident.
"I'm sure we will," said Sirius. "We always do."
The witch running the counter seemed a bit reluctant to
sell a boggart to four teenagers.
"Certainly not! Out of the question!"
Particularly when they hadn't got a permit.
"If you've nothing to do but hang about demanding to
purchase restricted Dark creatures, you're not welcome
in my shop! Out!"
They scampered.
"*Beauty* of a plan, Padfoot," said Remus. "Now what
d'you suggest we do?"
"No problem," said Sirius. "We can get a boggart down
Knockturn Alley."
"Oh, nice," said Remus sarcastically. "You know we're
not allowed."
"What choice have we got, though?" James said.
"None," said Peter, grinning excitedly.
"Technically," Remus pointed out, "we could drop the
plan."
"No we couldn't!" said Sirius and Peter together.
"All right," said Remus, resigned. Glancing about
furtively, the four of them took the proper
combination of turns to bring them to Knockturn
Alley. Sirius steered them unerringly toward a rather
unobtrusive shop called Bernie's Quality Magical
Beasts for All Occasions.
"Why do I get the feeling he's been here before?"
whispered Remus to James, who replied -
"Shh!"
Sirius pushed open the door, causing the bells
suspended from it to sing ("Customers!") in high,
cheery voices. "Bernie!" he called. "Hey, Bern!"
"Oh gods," Remus groaned under his breath.
A short, squat witch with scruffy gray hair and a
shifty look about her appeared through a door at the
back of the shop. "Wot's the racket?" she demanded,
kicking at something moving behind the door, which she
was struggling to close.
"It's just me," said Sirius. Here Remus cleared his
throat. "And a few friends," Sirius hastily added.
"Have you got any boggarts this week?"
Bernie eyed him suspiciously. "Wot d'you want 'em
for?"
"Ah..." Sirius glanced around the empty shop, as if to
check that no one was listening. "We're planning a
surprise for an acquaintance of ours."
Bernie screwed up her face, and her round little body
began shaking as a rasping sound issued from her open
mouth. It took Remus a moment to realise she was
chuckling appreciatively. "Shore 'ave, they're in th'
back. I tell yer, chaps, I wouldn' wanna be th' bloke
'oo got on Black's bad side, wot! Three Galleons an
'ead."
"We just need the one," said James.
"Righty-o," she muttered to herself, seizing a
knobby stick from beside the door. "I say! Back,
there! Gerroff!" she could be heard to shout, her
words punctuated by thuds and yelps.
"Why's she called Bernie?" asked Peter.
"Her name's Bernadette," said Sirius, "but she hates it
- says it sounds too girly."
But Remus wasn't really paying attention; he was much
too busy noticing the various creatures scattered
haphazardly around the shop, some in cages, some not.
Obviously the more dangerous specimens were in the back;
but the walls were lined with Fwoopers on perches, hives
of Glumbumbles, cages full of Crup puppies, glass
terrariums containing Mokes and even some Nifflers
tethered in the shadows. Remus had never seen some of
the beasts in the wall cages; he had no idea what they
were.
"...hope she comes back soon," James was saying. "I'm not
sure I like the way that Occamy is looking at me." Remus
followed his gaze to see a large, snakelike thing -
perhaps ten feet long - with high plumes on its head; it
was glaring at James, hissing, and raising its wings
menacingly.
At that moment, the door in back banged open. "Stay!
*STAY!*" Bernie was commanding; something large and furry
was attempting to squeeze an appendage through the door.
She whacked it with the stick; the appendage was snatched
back in; the door slammed shut; and Bernie collapsed
against it, panting. In her arms was a largish wooden box.
"You said three Galleons?" James asked.
"I did," Bernie replied, heading for her counter. The box
began to wobble in her arms, as if something were banging
around inside it; it was emitting muffled thuds. Bernie
gave it a sharp whack, and it desisted. "Temp'ramental
little blighters, wot," she muttered. "Don't like bein'
carted about."
Remus and James exchanged glances; this did not bode well
for Sirius' plan.
Sirius himself, however, was gleefully extracting coins
from his money bag and counting them into Bernie's hand.
"Great," he was saying, "wonderful." Peter was at his
elbow, eyes shining, as he tried to peer through a tiny
crack in the box.
"I wouldn' do that, my lad," said Bernie sharply. "Let it
alone - it don't like bein' bothered." The box had begun
to wobble and thud again, and Peter drew back hastily.
"Anyfing else for you chaps today?" asked Bernie at length,
having carefully counted their Knuts and Sickles.
"No," said Remus, rather hastily scooping up the box.
"We'll just be on our way. Thank you." He shot a look at
James, cocking his head toward Peter and all but dragging
Sirius to the door. James, cottoning on instantly, did much
the same to Peter.
When they were outside, Remus unceremoniously shoved the
box at Sirius and gave him his best glower. "What
business," he demanded, "could you have *possibly* had
*before* now in *KNOCKTURN ALLEY*?"
Sirius shrugged as best he could with a shuddering box of
boggart in his arms. "Oh, you know," he said airily,
"various sorts - but that's neither here nor there..."
Remus looked heavenward. "You're going to get yourself into
a lot of trouble someday, Padfoot. You do know that."
Sirius laughed. "Of course!" He started back toward
Diagon Alley, and his friends hastened to keep up.
~TSUZUKU~
installment. Don't like it? Don't read.
Disclaimer: Not mine, JKR's. She's a genius. She's a
goddess. She doesn't mind fanfiction. ^_^V
A/N: I had meant for Chapter 1 to be a one-shot, but it
appears it's going to have to come in parts, or it would
be months between updates. This fic has snowballed on me
and is going to end up much longer than I had anticipated.
Thank you all for your reviews, and those of you who did
not review, thank you for reading. To Mordor: Chill, dearie
- the slash hasn't even started yet. It's all good.
~TSUZUKU~
Gringotts was a huge white building, much taller than the
shops up and down Diagon Alley. On its steps sat three
teenage boys, eating ice cream and talking about
broomsticks. One of them happened to glance to his left,
spotting Remus in the crowd.
"Moony!" he cried. Remus felt his heart give a funny lurch
as he met the boy's eyes. "It's about time you got here!"
Remus grinned. "No time was specified, Padfoot. It's still
Friday, isn't it? Hi Prongs, Wormtail."
"Hi Moony," replied James and Peter.
The four of them went into Gringotts and took money out of
their vaults.
"Where shall we go first?" Sirius asked, rubbing his hands
together. "Flourish and Blotts for our schoolbooks? - and
later we could hit the Magical Menagerie..." There was a
glint in his eye that promised mayhem. Remus had learned to
both love and loathe that glint.
"Why are we going to the Menagerie?" he asked warily.
Sirius winked conspiratorially. "It's all part of my plan,"
he said.
"Of course." Remus paused. "But what exactly *is* this
plan?"
"You'll see," was all Sirius would say.
James rolled his eyes. "I definitely think we should go the
the Menagerie last. I don't want to be lugging whatever
Padfoot wants us to buy round to all the shops all day;
someone might see us with it."
"Good point," said Peter. "Incriminating evidence and all
that rot."
"Exactly," said Sirius. He set off toward Flourish and
Blotts, and the others followed. It was a simple task to
find their textbooks; they only needed _The Standard Book
of Spells, Grade 6_ and a _Supplemental Text for Advanced
Potions Study_. They stood in queue for no less than
fifteen minutes, paid, and headed to the Leaky Cauldron for
a bite.
When they had eaten, they headed down the street to the
Apothecary for their Potions supplies and then to the
Magical Menagerie.
"All right, Padfoot," said Remus at length, "what are we
buying?"
Sirius gestured them all in closer. "A boggart," he
whispered.
"A which?" asked Peter.
Sirius' eyes were dancing, making him look very nice
indeed. "It's a shapeshifter that takes the form of your
worst fear when you confront it."
"What are we meant to do with *that*?" James asked.
"We are meant," Sirius replied, "to smuggle it to school
and put it under Snape's bed."
"Brilliant!" said Peter. "Absolutely fucking smashing!"
"I don't know about all that," said Remus. "How are we
going to get it there?"
"'How are we going to get it to Hogwarts' or 'how are we
going to get it under Snape's bed'?" asked Sirius.
Remus pondered. "Well, both, really."
"They're not all that large," said Sirius. "I thought we
could bring it in someone's trunk, and he could put his
things in with the rest of ours; then we could keep it in
a disused closet somewhere when we'd got to school."
"All right," said James. "And then...?"
"And then..." said Sirius, pausing dramatically. "We come
up with a plan as to how to get it under Snape's bed."
Remus groaned. "How if we can't think of a way?"
"We'll think of something," said Peter, trying to sound
confident.
"I'm sure we will," said Sirius. "We always do."
The witch running the counter seemed a bit reluctant to
sell a boggart to four teenagers.
"Certainly not! Out of the question!"
Particularly when they hadn't got a permit.
"If you've nothing to do but hang about demanding to
purchase restricted Dark creatures, you're not welcome
in my shop! Out!"
They scampered.
"*Beauty* of a plan, Padfoot," said Remus. "Now what
d'you suggest we do?"
"No problem," said Sirius. "We can get a boggart down
Knockturn Alley."
"Oh, nice," said Remus sarcastically. "You know we're
not allowed."
"What choice have we got, though?" James said.
"None," said Peter, grinning excitedly.
"Technically," Remus pointed out, "we could drop the
plan."
"No we couldn't!" said Sirius and Peter together.
"All right," said Remus, resigned. Glancing about
furtively, the four of them took the proper
combination of turns to bring them to Knockturn
Alley. Sirius steered them unerringly toward a rather
unobtrusive shop called Bernie's Quality Magical
Beasts for All Occasions.
"Why do I get the feeling he's been here before?"
whispered Remus to James, who replied -
"Shh!"
Sirius pushed open the door, causing the bells
suspended from it to sing ("Customers!") in high,
cheery voices. "Bernie!" he called. "Hey, Bern!"
"Oh gods," Remus groaned under his breath.
A short, squat witch with scruffy gray hair and a
shifty look about her appeared through a door at the
back of the shop. "Wot's the racket?" she demanded,
kicking at something moving behind the door, which she
was struggling to close.
"It's just me," said Sirius. Here Remus cleared his
throat. "And a few friends," Sirius hastily added.
"Have you got any boggarts this week?"
Bernie eyed him suspiciously. "Wot d'you want 'em
for?"
"Ah..." Sirius glanced around the empty shop, as if to
check that no one was listening. "We're planning a
surprise for an acquaintance of ours."
Bernie screwed up her face, and her round little body
began shaking as a rasping sound issued from her open
mouth. It took Remus a moment to realise she was
chuckling appreciatively. "Shore 'ave, they're in th'
back. I tell yer, chaps, I wouldn' wanna be th' bloke
'oo got on Black's bad side, wot! Three Galleons an
'ead."
"We just need the one," said James.
"Righty-o," she muttered to herself, seizing a
knobby stick from beside the door. "I say! Back,
there! Gerroff!" she could be heard to shout, her
words punctuated by thuds and yelps.
"Why's she called Bernie?" asked Peter.
"Her name's Bernadette," said Sirius, "but she hates it
- says it sounds too girly."
But Remus wasn't really paying attention; he was much
too busy noticing the various creatures scattered
haphazardly around the shop, some in cages, some not.
Obviously the more dangerous specimens were in the back;
but the walls were lined with Fwoopers on perches, hives
of Glumbumbles, cages full of Crup puppies, glass
terrariums containing Mokes and even some Nifflers
tethered in the shadows. Remus had never seen some of
the beasts in the wall cages; he had no idea what they
were.
"...hope she comes back soon," James was saying. "I'm not
sure I like the way that Occamy is looking at me." Remus
followed his gaze to see a large, snakelike thing -
perhaps ten feet long - with high plumes on its head; it
was glaring at James, hissing, and raising its wings
menacingly.
At that moment, the door in back banged open. "Stay!
*STAY!*" Bernie was commanding; something large and furry
was attempting to squeeze an appendage through the door.
She whacked it with the stick; the appendage was snatched
back in; the door slammed shut; and Bernie collapsed
against it, panting. In her arms was a largish wooden box.
"You said three Galleons?" James asked.
"I did," Bernie replied, heading for her counter. The box
began to wobble in her arms, as if something were banging
around inside it; it was emitting muffled thuds. Bernie
gave it a sharp whack, and it desisted. "Temp'ramental
little blighters, wot," she muttered. "Don't like bein'
carted about."
Remus and James exchanged glances; this did not bode well
for Sirius' plan.
Sirius himself, however, was gleefully extracting coins
from his money bag and counting them into Bernie's hand.
"Great," he was saying, "wonderful." Peter was at his
elbow, eyes shining, as he tried to peer through a tiny
crack in the box.
"I wouldn' do that, my lad," said Bernie sharply. "Let it
alone - it don't like bein' bothered." The box had begun
to wobble and thud again, and Peter drew back hastily.
"Anyfing else for you chaps today?" asked Bernie at length,
having carefully counted their Knuts and Sickles.
"No," said Remus, rather hastily scooping up the box.
"We'll just be on our way. Thank you." He shot a look at
James, cocking his head toward Peter and all but dragging
Sirius to the door. James, cottoning on instantly, did much
the same to Peter.
When they were outside, Remus unceremoniously shoved the
box at Sirius and gave him his best glower. "What
business," he demanded, "could you have *possibly* had
*before* now in *KNOCKTURN ALLEY*?"
Sirius shrugged as best he could with a shuddering box of
boggart in his arms. "Oh, you know," he said airily,
"various sorts - but that's neither here nor there..."
Remus looked heavenward. "You're going to get yourself into
a lot of trouble someday, Padfoot. You do know that."
Sirius laughed. "Of course!" He started back toward
Diagon Alley, and his friends hastened to keep up.
~TSUZUKU~
