Yay!!! 20 chappies! ::dances around the room and spacegirl whacks her on
the head for trying to moonwalk:: As a celebration I've decided that I will
make a sequel, maybe even two sequels, to The Unicorn and the Stag.
Does anybody know how to change U.S. dollars to pounds and Galleons/Sickles/Knuts?
Disclaimer: See chapter 1 ya know I'm gonna stop saying this too. I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not taking credit, but if I find you are using my story line GOD HELP ME I WILL REPORT YOU!!! Thank you and have a nice day.
The Unicorn and the Stag
Chapter 20
Their outing of Rita Skeeter went very quickly, fueled by their rage. They kept putting four-letter words into sentences also including her name. They took only one break, on Christmas for a snowball fight and, of course, presents.
Harry got more presents than he ever had. The professors had felt so kindly towards him since that summer that they had given him presents. In all, he received exactly 20 gifts. His favorite was Rose's, who had given him a music box that played the song his mother used to sing for him, In Dreams. It was redwood with a deep red velvet and gold satin interior and had a carving of a stag on the top. He kept his ring there when he slept.
After Christmas, they went right to work on their letters to the Ministry and Daily Prophet. It didn't take them long to finish. In the end, it looked like this:
To Whom It May Concern:
We would like to inform you that one Rita Skeeter has been using illegal means to gather stories for the newspaper she works for, The Daily Prophet. She is an unregistered Animagi, a beetle. She also uses a Quick-Quotes Quill, which were banned in 1923, to write her stories. We would appreciate it if you would apprehend her.
"Perfect!" Rose said. She looked almost as pleased as when Malfoy got expelled. "I'll get Heartsong to send it. One of the others might be recognized." She whistled, and suddenly Heartsong appeared on her perch in a cloud of flame. Rose handed her the letter and watched her fly away. "Now I've got to do some damage control." She whirled and left the room to make an announcement in the Great Hall. Bill and the young Golds followed.
*~*~*
Rose was furious. Bill kept trying to console her, but it wasn't working.
"Come on, love, don't take it out on your friends and your brother. Especially not your brother."
She whirled around suddenly. He just didn't understand. "Bill! This means that any Death Eater in the world can find me. Everyone knows that there's another Potter now. I won't have any peace, people will point and whisper! Bill, you'd probably be better off without me."
He grabbed her around the waist. "I'd be miserable without you. And I don't care if everyone stares. Why do you?"
"It's just a natural fear. I got teased when I was a kid. I'm sensitive to teasing."
"I'll be here to protect you. Besides, you're the most powerful witch in a century. No one messes with a Potter."
"I won't be a Potter after I marry you."
"What if you were?"
"You want to keep my name?!"
"Yes. It's a nice name." He grinned. "Anyways, Rose Weasly sounds a bit strange."
She hugged him. Where had she managed to find such a great guy? "I love you Bill."
"I love you too, Rosie."
"Now I'd better get to the Great Hall before Mum and Daddy kill me."
"Good point." She hurried off again, laughing at Bill and her friends struggling to catch up.
She got to the Great Hall about ten minutes later. Her entourage got there about twelve minutes later. She laughed as they struggled in. She grabbed Bill, Hermione and Harry by the arm and pulled them up.
"I am sure by now that you have all seen the Daily Prophet article about me." The students' heads nodded. "I am here to tell you about what is true and what is not." She took a deep breath. "I am, indeed, Harry Potter's older sister. I am not Rose Lynn Creek; I am Rose Lily Potter. Hermione Granger is the daughter of my mother's sister. So yes, she is my cousin." The students gasped. But most of the Gryffindors weren't surprised. Some of them raised their hands with questions.
"Yes, Miss Brown?"
"If you are Harry's sister, how did you escape the attack by You-Know-Who?"
"That is a very good question." She sat down. "In short, I was protected by a friend of the family who was holding me when You-Know-Who entered the Potter home. She defended me, and I survived the same way my brother did. Professor Snape came to the house just after You-Know-Who left and brought me to Hogwarts. Yes, Mr. Creevey?"
"Than do you have a scar like Harry's?" Dennis Creevey's small voice spoke up.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." She pulled back her bangs to reveal the lightning-bolt scar that was identical to her brother's. The students gasped. "I thank you for listening to me yammer on about things you have already heard from the Daily Prophet." She strode out of the room with Bill on her arm and Harry and Hermione struggling to keep up. The other Golds quickly stood up and followed. Rose was pleased.
"Grab your dates and pack your trunks," she said. "We're going to Muggle London early. Hermione, notify your parents. They live in London, correct?" She nodded. "Parvati, Padma, you'd better go get Dean and Seamus. I know you all really like each other and if you don't bring them with you, you might not see them for quite a while. We're going on the trip early."
"Why?" Ron asked.
"Ron, don't be daft," Bill told him. "With the news that Rose is still alive and that a Potter cousin exists, You-Know-Who will be desperate to get his hands on them. And if anyone finds out that the rest of you are Golds.I'd rather not think about it."
"But why do we have to bring our dates?"
"That is a treat. Do not spoil it. They are expendable. Except for Bill, of course," she said, hugging him again.
"Not fair!"
"Why Bill?"
"Does that mean I'm expendable?" Ginny asked. Her eyes were wide and she was clutching Harry's arm.
"No, no," Rose said hastily. "I thought Harry had told you. You're Gold too, remember?" She nodded and didn't grip Harry's arm quite so hard. "Now get your things. Make sure you have enough of everything. Fred, George, go get some food off the house-elves in the kitchen. A lot of food." They nodded and took off. "Please work fast! We don't have much time."
They had reached Gryffindor Tower. Everyone scrambled through the portrait hole ("Blundering Beaters") to grab their trunks except for, of course, Padma, who was a Ravenclaw. Rose ducked through her picture of the Potters ("Avril Rocks") and shrunk the trunk she had packed on Boxing Day. The others were already waiting for her when she came back out. Dean and Seamus looked confused.
"Padma, Parvati, please explain to them," Rose said tiredly. She was tired of explaining. "I've got a Portkey waiting to take us into the Leaky Cauldron. I have Muggle clothes for all of you. We can't go waltzing around Muggle London in robes and cloaks." The Muggle-borns and Harry nodded. She pulled a wallet out of her pocket. Everyone but Rose and Bill placed a finger on it.
"We're Apparating," Bill explained.
"You should go in about five.four.three.two.one."
Suddenly the group and their trunks disappeared. Rose and Bill followed.
*~*~*
They met up in the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes later. Rose handed them their Muggle clothes.
"Put your trunks in room one-oh-eight," she said. "We'll keep them there for a while. You'll find wallets in the pocket of your pants or your purse, whichever I handed you. It's something Muggles use to keep money in. We'll need to change some money into Muggle money, too." The Muggle-borns and the Weaslys all nodded, but the purebloods looked confused. Rose sighed. Inexperienced kids.
"Some of you have taken Muggle Studies, right?" Several people nodded. "Obviously, you didn't pay attention! Could some of you that did please help them?" Hermione and the Patils nodded. "Good." She went into one of the rooms to change.
*~*~*
Hermione was watching Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus, who were arguing about who got to change first.
"I have my hand in the room!"
"You do not. That's your finger."
"It still counts!"
"Not if I crush it." Seamus shut the door on Ron's finger.
"OW! Seamus!"
"Ha! I have my foot in there!" Dean had managed to get a corner of his shoe into the sliver of door.
"Not if I crush it," Harry said. He was about to slam the door on Dean's foot when Hermione saw them squabbling.
"Honestly!" She grabbed the door handle and shut the door on Dean's toe, Ron's finger, Harry's foot and three of Seamus's fingers.
"OW!" they all said. The other girls saw them and shook their heads.
"Boys." The other girls were already changed. Their dresses were all the same design, a beige knee-length skirt with a tiny slit in the side and a peasant blouse. The blouses were different colors. Ginny's was spring green, Rose's was pale blue, the Patils' were pink, the Bernards' were pale yellow, and Hermione, who had just finished, had a cream blouse. The boys were goggling.
The girls thought that the boys looked quite nice in their jeans and sweaters. The sweaters were navy, forest green, or dark red. Hermione thought that Ron looked quite handsome in navy. Ginny, of course, was extremely busy telling Hermione how great Harry looked in forest green.
*I think Mum was right, you know when she bought him those robes last year? That shade of green brings out his eyes wonderfully.*
*Your brother looks hot in the navy.*
*You'd better not be talking about my fiancé, Bernard.*
*That was me, Hermione.*
*Oh, sorry. I guess navy is just a Weasly color.*
*Dean looks so cute in the red.*
*Parvati! Dean's mine!*
*Yeah, yeah.*
*Hello, ladies.*
*Mind if we join you?*
*YES! GO AWAY!* they all mentally yelled. Fred and George, the interrupters, grabbed their heads. The girls simultaneously grinned and went back to talking.
*Rose, do we get to go to the Bahamas first?*
*Alex, you live in Florida. You've been to the Bahamas eight times and have a summer home there.*
*Yeah, but the guys down there are hot.*
*They all think Brit girls are cute.*
*Yeah. We know exactly what they think about us.*
*Using your powers for evil rather than good again, eh, Bernard?*
"Hermione." Ron was waving his hand in front of her face. "Snap out of it. We need to go."
Hermione sat up with a jolt. She hadn't realized how much time had gone by. "Sorry, Ron. I'm just glad you didn't try the same thing the twins did." She looked back on Fred and George, who were still rubbing their temples.
"You'd have to be crazy. But their reaction was very funny." They laughed.
"Hey, lovebirds. We've got to get to Gringotts," Rose said.
"Excuse me, O sister, but I do not believe we are the lovebirds," Harry said to Rose, who was cuddling Bill.
"Shut up, Harrison."
"Fine, Rosemary."
"Both of you shut up!" They did. Everyone was very good at following Hermione's orders.
It took them about forty-five minutes to change the money and get into Muggle London. Each of them had $100 for personal use, and Rose was carrying $500 for their supplies.
"Let's go in there," Rose said, pointing to a three-level Galleon's store (I don't know if they have those in the UK or not. Work with me here; I'm an American freak). The purebloods, except for Harry and Rose, of course, were confused at the store's name.
"Does it have anything to do with money?" Dean asked.
"No. If it did, we wouldn't be going there."
"Oh."
"It carries camping supplies. Tents, dried food, backpacks, first-aid kits. Things like that." She noticed their confused faces. "Oh, just come inside and see." They entered the huge store.
"Wow," George said.
"Wow," Fred repeated.
"Wow," Ron echoed. Hermione sighed.
"Pureblood half-wits."
"Shut up, Mione."
"Don't ever put down a pureblood, Granger," came a drawling voice from behind them. Everyone whirled. Draco Malfoy and his father.
*~*~*
"Malfoy," Harry said with disgust.
"Of course, the Weasels hardly qualify as purebloods. With their bumbling, Muggle-loving fool of a father," Draco Malfoy said. The Weaslys all promptly turned scarlet.
Harry looked at Rose. He knew she had more of a reason to hate the Malfoys. Lucius knew this too, apparently. He saw her flushed face. It was not flushed in embarrassment.
"I heard about your little.meeting with that friend of mine. I suppose you think he's dead." Lucius smiled at Rose's reaction to this. Her face was turning purple. Bill touched her arm, but it only made her go down to a bright red.
"You'd better watch it, Malfoy," she said between gritted teeth.
"Ah, I see your little Weasel husband has managed to talk some Muggle- loving into you. Obviously, since you're so fond of little Mudblood here." Ron was the same shade as Rose now. So were the rest of the Weaslys. Even Hermione and her friends were showing a shred of anger. Dean, Seamus and the Bernards simply backed away. Harry heard Seamus whisper to Alex.
"Do you think they'll actually start throwing curses? In the middle of all these Muggles?"
"Rose wouldn't," Alex murmured back. "She'd just beat the crap out of them. Harry wouldn't either. I'm just worried that they might not be able to control it."
They were right. As his friends and family exchanged insults with the Malfoys, Harry and Rose felt the magic building inside of them. They knew the rest of them could feel it, too. They figured it was only a few seconds between them and blowing things up.
In the middle of Muggle London.
*~*~*~*
Whew! That's eight pages on Microsoft Word. Longest chappie yet. My fingers hurt. And will somebody please tell me how to convert US dollars into UK pounds and back. I truly have no clue. So I'm just gonna use US dollars for a while. Work with me here, people. And does anyone know if they have Galleon's stores in England? I am such an American.
Does anybody know how to change U.S. dollars to pounds and Galleons/Sickles/Knuts?
Disclaimer: See chapter 1 ya know I'm gonna stop saying this too. I am not J.K. Rowling, I am not taking credit, but if I find you are using my story line GOD HELP ME I WILL REPORT YOU!!! Thank you and have a nice day.
The Unicorn and the Stag
Chapter 20
Their outing of Rita Skeeter went very quickly, fueled by their rage. They kept putting four-letter words into sentences also including her name. They took only one break, on Christmas for a snowball fight and, of course, presents.
Harry got more presents than he ever had. The professors had felt so kindly towards him since that summer that they had given him presents. In all, he received exactly 20 gifts. His favorite was Rose's, who had given him a music box that played the song his mother used to sing for him, In Dreams. It was redwood with a deep red velvet and gold satin interior and had a carving of a stag on the top. He kept his ring there when he slept.
After Christmas, they went right to work on their letters to the Ministry and Daily Prophet. It didn't take them long to finish. In the end, it looked like this:
To Whom It May Concern:
We would like to inform you that one Rita Skeeter has been using illegal means to gather stories for the newspaper she works for, The Daily Prophet. She is an unregistered Animagi, a beetle. She also uses a Quick-Quotes Quill, which were banned in 1923, to write her stories. We would appreciate it if you would apprehend her.
"Perfect!" Rose said. She looked almost as pleased as when Malfoy got expelled. "I'll get Heartsong to send it. One of the others might be recognized." She whistled, and suddenly Heartsong appeared on her perch in a cloud of flame. Rose handed her the letter and watched her fly away. "Now I've got to do some damage control." She whirled and left the room to make an announcement in the Great Hall. Bill and the young Golds followed.
*~*~*
Rose was furious. Bill kept trying to console her, but it wasn't working.
"Come on, love, don't take it out on your friends and your brother. Especially not your brother."
She whirled around suddenly. He just didn't understand. "Bill! This means that any Death Eater in the world can find me. Everyone knows that there's another Potter now. I won't have any peace, people will point and whisper! Bill, you'd probably be better off without me."
He grabbed her around the waist. "I'd be miserable without you. And I don't care if everyone stares. Why do you?"
"It's just a natural fear. I got teased when I was a kid. I'm sensitive to teasing."
"I'll be here to protect you. Besides, you're the most powerful witch in a century. No one messes with a Potter."
"I won't be a Potter after I marry you."
"What if you were?"
"You want to keep my name?!"
"Yes. It's a nice name." He grinned. "Anyways, Rose Weasly sounds a bit strange."
She hugged him. Where had she managed to find such a great guy? "I love you Bill."
"I love you too, Rosie."
"Now I'd better get to the Great Hall before Mum and Daddy kill me."
"Good point." She hurried off again, laughing at Bill and her friends struggling to catch up.
She got to the Great Hall about ten minutes later. Her entourage got there about twelve minutes later. She laughed as they struggled in. She grabbed Bill, Hermione and Harry by the arm and pulled them up.
"I am sure by now that you have all seen the Daily Prophet article about me." The students' heads nodded. "I am here to tell you about what is true and what is not." She took a deep breath. "I am, indeed, Harry Potter's older sister. I am not Rose Lynn Creek; I am Rose Lily Potter. Hermione Granger is the daughter of my mother's sister. So yes, she is my cousin." The students gasped. But most of the Gryffindors weren't surprised. Some of them raised their hands with questions.
"Yes, Miss Brown?"
"If you are Harry's sister, how did you escape the attack by You-Know-Who?"
"That is a very good question." She sat down. "In short, I was protected by a friend of the family who was holding me when You-Know-Who entered the Potter home. She defended me, and I survived the same way my brother did. Professor Snape came to the house just after You-Know-Who left and brought me to Hogwarts. Yes, Mr. Creevey?"
"Than do you have a scar like Harry's?" Dennis Creevey's small voice spoke up.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." She pulled back her bangs to reveal the lightning-bolt scar that was identical to her brother's. The students gasped. "I thank you for listening to me yammer on about things you have already heard from the Daily Prophet." She strode out of the room with Bill on her arm and Harry and Hermione struggling to keep up. The other Golds quickly stood up and followed. Rose was pleased.
"Grab your dates and pack your trunks," she said. "We're going to Muggle London early. Hermione, notify your parents. They live in London, correct?" She nodded. "Parvati, Padma, you'd better go get Dean and Seamus. I know you all really like each other and if you don't bring them with you, you might not see them for quite a while. We're going on the trip early."
"Why?" Ron asked.
"Ron, don't be daft," Bill told him. "With the news that Rose is still alive and that a Potter cousin exists, You-Know-Who will be desperate to get his hands on them. And if anyone finds out that the rest of you are Golds.I'd rather not think about it."
"But why do we have to bring our dates?"
"That is a treat. Do not spoil it. They are expendable. Except for Bill, of course," she said, hugging him again.
"Not fair!"
"Why Bill?"
"Does that mean I'm expendable?" Ginny asked. Her eyes were wide and she was clutching Harry's arm.
"No, no," Rose said hastily. "I thought Harry had told you. You're Gold too, remember?" She nodded and didn't grip Harry's arm quite so hard. "Now get your things. Make sure you have enough of everything. Fred, George, go get some food off the house-elves in the kitchen. A lot of food." They nodded and took off. "Please work fast! We don't have much time."
They had reached Gryffindor Tower. Everyone scrambled through the portrait hole ("Blundering Beaters") to grab their trunks except for, of course, Padma, who was a Ravenclaw. Rose ducked through her picture of the Potters ("Avril Rocks") and shrunk the trunk she had packed on Boxing Day. The others were already waiting for her when she came back out. Dean and Seamus looked confused.
"Padma, Parvati, please explain to them," Rose said tiredly. She was tired of explaining. "I've got a Portkey waiting to take us into the Leaky Cauldron. I have Muggle clothes for all of you. We can't go waltzing around Muggle London in robes and cloaks." The Muggle-borns and Harry nodded. She pulled a wallet out of her pocket. Everyone but Rose and Bill placed a finger on it.
"We're Apparating," Bill explained.
"You should go in about five.four.three.two.one."
Suddenly the group and their trunks disappeared. Rose and Bill followed.
*~*~*
They met up in the Leaky Cauldron a few minutes later. Rose handed them their Muggle clothes.
"Put your trunks in room one-oh-eight," she said. "We'll keep them there for a while. You'll find wallets in the pocket of your pants or your purse, whichever I handed you. It's something Muggles use to keep money in. We'll need to change some money into Muggle money, too." The Muggle-borns and the Weaslys all nodded, but the purebloods looked confused. Rose sighed. Inexperienced kids.
"Some of you have taken Muggle Studies, right?" Several people nodded. "Obviously, you didn't pay attention! Could some of you that did please help them?" Hermione and the Patils nodded. "Good." She went into one of the rooms to change.
*~*~*
Hermione was watching Harry, Ron, Dean, and Seamus, who were arguing about who got to change first.
"I have my hand in the room!"
"You do not. That's your finger."
"It still counts!"
"Not if I crush it." Seamus shut the door on Ron's finger.
"OW! Seamus!"
"Ha! I have my foot in there!" Dean had managed to get a corner of his shoe into the sliver of door.
"Not if I crush it," Harry said. He was about to slam the door on Dean's foot when Hermione saw them squabbling.
"Honestly!" She grabbed the door handle and shut the door on Dean's toe, Ron's finger, Harry's foot and three of Seamus's fingers.
"OW!" they all said. The other girls saw them and shook their heads.
"Boys." The other girls were already changed. Their dresses were all the same design, a beige knee-length skirt with a tiny slit in the side and a peasant blouse. The blouses were different colors. Ginny's was spring green, Rose's was pale blue, the Patils' were pink, the Bernards' were pale yellow, and Hermione, who had just finished, had a cream blouse. The boys were goggling.
The girls thought that the boys looked quite nice in their jeans and sweaters. The sweaters were navy, forest green, or dark red. Hermione thought that Ron looked quite handsome in navy. Ginny, of course, was extremely busy telling Hermione how great Harry looked in forest green.
*I think Mum was right, you know when she bought him those robes last year? That shade of green brings out his eyes wonderfully.*
*Your brother looks hot in the navy.*
*You'd better not be talking about my fiancé, Bernard.*
*That was me, Hermione.*
*Oh, sorry. I guess navy is just a Weasly color.*
*Dean looks so cute in the red.*
*Parvati! Dean's mine!*
*Yeah, yeah.*
*Hello, ladies.*
*Mind if we join you?*
*YES! GO AWAY!* they all mentally yelled. Fred and George, the interrupters, grabbed their heads. The girls simultaneously grinned and went back to talking.
*Rose, do we get to go to the Bahamas first?*
*Alex, you live in Florida. You've been to the Bahamas eight times and have a summer home there.*
*Yeah, but the guys down there are hot.*
*They all think Brit girls are cute.*
*Yeah. We know exactly what they think about us.*
*Using your powers for evil rather than good again, eh, Bernard?*
"Hermione." Ron was waving his hand in front of her face. "Snap out of it. We need to go."
Hermione sat up with a jolt. She hadn't realized how much time had gone by. "Sorry, Ron. I'm just glad you didn't try the same thing the twins did." She looked back on Fred and George, who were still rubbing their temples.
"You'd have to be crazy. But their reaction was very funny." They laughed.
"Hey, lovebirds. We've got to get to Gringotts," Rose said.
"Excuse me, O sister, but I do not believe we are the lovebirds," Harry said to Rose, who was cuddling Bill.
"Shut up, Harrison."
"Fine, Rosemary."
"Both of you shut up!" They did. Everyone was very good at following Hermione's orders.
It took them about forty-five minutes to change the money and get into Muggle London. Each of them had $100 for personal use, and Rose was carrying $500 for their supplies.
"Let's go in there," Rose said, pointing to a three-level Galleon's store (I don't know if they have those in the UK or not. Work with me here; I'm an American freak). The purebloods, except for Harry and Rose, of course, were confused at the store's name.
"Does it have anything to do with money?" Dean asked.
"No. If it did, we wouldn't be going there."
"Oh."
"It carries camping supplies. Tents, dried food, backpacks, first-aid kits. Things like that." She noticed their confused faces. "Oh, just come inside and see." They entered the huge store.
"Wow," George said.
"Wow," Fred repeated.
"Wow," Ron echoed. Hermione sighed.
"Pureblood half-wits."
"Shut up, Mione."
"Don't ever put down a pureblood, Granger," came a drawling voice from behind them. Everyone whirled. Draco Malfoy and his father.
*~*~*
"Malfoy," Harry said with disgust.
"Of course, the Weasels hardly qualify as purebloods. With their bumbling, Muggle-loving fool of a father," Draco Malfoy said. The Weaslys all promptly turned scarlet.
Harry looked at Rose. He knew she had more of a reason to hate the Malfoys. Lucius knew this too, apparently. He saw her flushed face. It was not flushed in embarrassment.
"I heard about your little.meeting with that friend of mine. I suppose you think he's dead." Lucius smiled at Rose's reaction to this. Her face was turning purple. Bill touched her arm, but it only made her go down to a bright red.
"You'd better watch it, Malfoy," she said between gritted teeth.
"Ah, I see your little Weasel husband has managed to talk some Muggle- loving into you. Obviously, since you're so fond of little Mudblood here." Ron was the same shade as Rose now. So were the rest of the Weaslys. Even Hermione and her friends were showing a shred of anger. Dean, Seamus and the Bernards simply backed away. Harry heard Seamus whisper to Alex.
"Do you think they'll actually start throwing curses? In the middle of all these Muggles?"
"Rose wouldn't," Alex murmured back. "She'd just beat the crap out of them. Harry wouldn't either. I'm just worried that they might not be able to control it."
They were right. As his friends and family exchanged insults with the Malfoys, Harry and Rose felt the magic building inside of them. They knew the rest of them could feel it, too. They figured it was only a few seconds between them and blowing things up.
In the middle of Muggle London.
*~*~*~*
Whew! That's eight pages on Microsoft Word. Longest chappie yet. My fingers hurt. And will somebody please tell me how to convert US dollars into UK pounds and back. I truly have no clue. So I'm just gonna use US dollars for a while. Work with me here, people. And does anyone know if they have Galleon's stores in England? I am such an American.