Chapter 9: Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes
Once in the library, Harry looked around and attempted to remember from where he had pulled the book. Nothing looked familiar. He knew Ron and Hermione were watching him, waiting. Exhaling loudly, he said, "I can't remember!"
Ron shrugged, "It's okay. We'll just start on research. Maybe it'll come to you." he reassured Harry.
"Maybe it means the dream you had was just a dream." Hermione said, sounding hopeful. Harry didn't agree.
"No, I was definitely being pulled down the hallway. I couldn't see who it was, but they didn't seem very big, maybe the size of a house elf." Harry stopped, a new thought occurring to him. "Ron, are you absolutely positive you saw me in bed for the whole dream?"
"What are you getting at, Harry?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"How long before you woke me up did you notice I was thrashing around?" Harry asked, getting excited.
"I don't remember, mate, maybe a minute or two." he replied.
"Oh." Harry responded, his shoulders shagging. If Ron had seen him that far in advance, there was no way.
"What, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"I thought, well, I mean, no one's seen Kreacher lately, right? That probably means he's at the Malfoys. I thought maybe Voldemort found out about some book here from Kreacher and he wanted to take a closer look at it." Saying his theory out loud made it sound ridiculous, but he noticed Hermione's eyes grow wide.
"Harry!" she cried. "Do you really think so? What color was the book? Maybe when Professors Lupin and Calabrone cleaned the library they moved it around. Kreacher wouldn't have known that--he would have told Voldemort where the book used to be!"
Harry looked at her in amazement. "Of course." He closed his eyes for a while, trying to remember. "It was red," he said at last, opening his eyes, "Red leather with gold lettering in a fancy script."
"All right then, let's get looking." Hermione commanded. For the next quarter of an hour the three of them searched the shelves.
"Nothing." Ron sighed dejectedly, slumping into one of the overstuffed chairs.
"Me either." Harry said, throwing himself into the chair next to Ron. Hermione looked sternly at the both of them, but after another minute admitted defeat as well.
"Argh!" she growled. "It's got to be here. We're just not looking properly. Maybe they moved books to another room."
"Well, Calabrone did say they were removing some of the more dangerous ones." Ron reminded them.
"Yes, but the book didn't look harmful, did it Harry?" she asked.
"No, but that doesn't mean it wasn't." he replied.
Hermione screwed up her face in concentration. "Well, we'll just have to figure out where it went."
"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley called. "Oh, there you are." she said, entering the library. "Come along, we're going to Diagon Alley after lunch for your school supplies and to pick up Ginny."
Soon enough, the plates from lunch had been cleared and they were getting ready to leave. A clunk was heard on the stairs leading to the kitchen. Mad Eye Moody, Tonks, and two wizards Harry didn't recognize shuffled in.
"Wotcher, everyone. Ready for Diagon Alley?" Security is all set, Molly." Tonks proclaimed.
"Security?" Harry asked.
"You didn't think we'd just let you walk in Diagon Alley unguarded did you, Potter?" said Moody. "No, we've already got the advance guard out scouting the area, and the four of us," Moody jerked a thumb toward the door where Tonks stood flanked on either side by the as yet unnamed wizards, "will protecting you from all sides. Molly will be with you as well."
"Is all that necessary, Professor?" Hermione asked.
Moody fixed his real eye on her, "So long as there are Death Eaters out there, parading around as regular citizens, Potter is a target. Dumbledore's orders are to keep him safe. And that's what I intend to do."
Hermione lowered her gaze to the floor.
"All right then, everyone ready?" Moody growled. "Right. Let's move out."
They moved to the front hallway. Once outside, Mrs. Weasley grabbed Harry's hand. "All right, Harry. We'll be taking a port key to the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone got a hold? One...two...three."
Harry closed his eyes and held on. When he felt everything slowing down he slowly opened his eyes and braced himself for impact, but still managed to fall in a pile on top of Hermione, who was sprawled on top of Ron. He hastened to get up, and put a hand down to Hermione, who was very red faced and looking very embarrassed.
Ron's face was just as red. Harry smiled at the two of them.
"Let's move along." Mrs. Weasley said briskly. "Alastor and the others should have apparated by now." They followed her into the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry's eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the pub. The lunch crowd was in, several tables filled with witches and wizards chatting happily to one another. Harry smiled to Tom who was behind the counter polishing a mug. He looked about ready to greet Harry, when Mrs. Weasley shook her head violently. Tom clamped his mouth shut and merely nodded at the party.
They walked immediately to the back room where Mrs. Weasley tapped the bricks in quick succession, allowing them entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry felt a warm blast of air on his face, filled with the many smells of Diagon Alley. Walking quickly behind Mrs. Weasley, Harry soon found himself in Flourish and Blotts.
Mrs. Weasley had their class lists in her hand, "It's all right, dears, I'll get what you want. It's stuffed in here. Why don't you lot find your way to the twins' shop?" Harry looked around for some sign of his watchers, but couldn't see anything.
"Don't worry, Harry. They're there. They'll keep an eye on you." She reassured him.
Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Come on, Hermione. Let's go see the twins' shop." Hermione looked longingly at the piles of unread books. "Ginny will be there," Ron reminded her.
With this, Hermione brightened, "All right. Besides, we can always come back later if we have time." She reasoned.
Ron rolled his eyes at Harry and followed hr out the door. Turning to their left, they ambled down the street until they spotted a window display with sparks and ribbons spouting forth.
A garish orange and purple sign proudly stated 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes: Tricks for fun & profit'. Harry smiled; he couldn't wait to see the inside.
As they stepped across the threshold, a loud sound, like someone had stepped on a rather large bird, was heard. Looking up, they noticed a sort of horn. "That must announce when they have a customer." Said Hermione, and sure enough, moments later Fred and George burst through a curtain behind the back counter.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes!" Fred said dramatically, bowing low and pulling the lurid orange top hot from his head to sweep it low against the floor.
"Litter brother! Harry! Hermione!" exclaimed George. "But where's Mum?"
"Shopping at Flourish and Blotts for us. She'll be along later," Hermione explained.
"Wow!" breathed Ron. Harry turned his head to see what Ron was pointing at. There, stacked neatly to the left of the door, were red and yellow striped boxes. The sign on the topmost read 'Spots-in-the-box: Give the gift to a friend (or enemy). When opened, contents will color the recipients faces in Gryffindor colors. Does not face for three days. Guaranteed to upset any Slytherin.'
Harry noticed that just beyond the Gryffindor boxes were boxes with the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin colors.
"Didn't want to limit our buying market." Fred said in Harry's ear. "We started with just the Gryffindor colors, but quickly expanded."
"And here's our patron." George welcomed heartily. "What say you, Harry? Do you give your approval?"
Harry took a moment to glance around the shop. Everywhere were piles and stacks of firecrackers, food bits, trick clothing, and other jokes, pranks, and tricks of the trade. Reds, oranges, blues, purples, greens, yellows—every inch of space seemed to have a bright color splashed on it. The floor had stars painted on it; the ceiling had stripes of purple and green. The glass counter in the back was trimmed with blinking lights. All the boxes were brightly colored and the time to time a pile of products would spit or sputter and sparks or smoke would spurt forth. There were all sorts of bells and whistles, and clanks and klonks sounding. It was pure pandemonium.
"It's brilliant." Harry said honestly.
Fred and George beamed. "Ginny's been a great help, really." Said Fred. "She put herself in charge of organizing."
"Inventory." Said George.
"Decorating." Continued Fred.
"And generally running the store." Finished George.
"And we've loved every minute of it." Agreed Fred.
"Where is Ginny?" asked Hermione, idly poking at what looked like a pincushion.
"I wouldn't touch that, Hermione." Said George quickly. Pulling her finger back quickly, she glanced up at him. "It's nothing too dangerous. They just latch on and won't let go."
"Great for parties." Said Fred, ushering them to the back of the store. "Come on, come on. Lemonade and biscuits for everyone.
George waved his wand and a tray appeared, stacked with several different kinds of biscuits. They all grabbed eagerly and were snacking with enthusiasm when a loud bang was heard above them. A muffled yell was followed by several more thuds. A small puff of dust appeared from behind the purple curtain dividing the front of the store from the back.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked frantically at Fred and George, who were both grimacing.
"What wuvvat?" Ron said around a mouthful of biscuit. Hermione glared at him, but Ron just shrugged and looked at Fred and George.
"It's Ginny." Said Fred.
"No. It's Dean" corrected George.
"Dean?" Harry asked.
"Dean Thomas. He came this morning to help Ginny packed." Fred said darkly.
"And pick up his supplies for the year." Added George.
"That still doesn't explain the noise." Harry pointed out.
"Dean's been helping." Scowled George.
"Helping?" snorted Fred. "Distracting out sister is what you mean. She's been giggly and completely worthless since he arrived."
"Hey Harry!" came the familiar voice of Harry's classmate, Dean Thomas. He and Ginny stepped through the curtain together. Harry felt his stomach give an unfamiliar lurch as he noticed they were holding hands.
"Harry!" Ginny squealed. "Ron, Hermione! You're all here!" she ran forward and pulled the three of them into a hug. She'd grown over the month since school let out, Harry noticed, she was on par with Hermione.
She stepped back, beaming at him. "I'm afraid Dean lost control of my trunk carrying it downstairs." Harry noticed as Fred and George rolled their eyes. "I'm ready to go. Where's mum?"
"So anxious to leave, little sister?" asked Fred.
"And here I thought we were enjoyable. Hurt, am I, Fred. You?" lamented George.
"Wounded to the core." Responded Fred. The two pretended to console one another while Ginny shook her head at them.
"Honestly." Ginny scolded them. Dean, dragging Ginny's trunk out from the back, brought it to rest in front of the counter.
A loud squawk was heard. Moments later, Mrs. Weasley came into view, maneuvering around the piles of merchandise. "Hello Fred, George. Ginny dear, are you all packed? Oh, hello Dean. How are you?" she greeted.
"Fine, ma'am." Dean replied politely.
"It's nice of you to help Ginny. I'm sorry I have to take her away from you. Fred, George, give me a hug. I'm afraid we're in a bit of a rush. Supplies took longer to buy than expected. Moody's getting anxious." She said.
"Professor Moody?" Dean asked.
Mrs. Weasley stopped for a moment. Calming herself quickly, she started to shuffle her charges out the door. "Yes, dear, Professor Moody. Now, come along, you four. Let's go."
They all dutifully followed her out the door, calling their goodbyes to Fred, George and Dean.
Mrs. Weasley shuffled them quickly to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. Holding out a chipped tankard, she said, "Here were go. Grab a handful. We're stopping by the Burrow."
"Why the Burrow?" Harry asked.
"Not now, Harry. Just go." Mrs. Weasley said tersely. In turn, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, still clutching her trunk, all flooed to the Burrow, followed closely by Harry and Mrs. Weasley.
Brushing themselves off, Ron turned to his mother. "Mum, why did we have to go so quickly? You hardly said hello to Fred and George."
"Oh, Ron, I know dear." Mrs. Weasley began, but was cut off by two loud cracks as Moody and Tonks apparated outside the front door to the Burrow.
"Are they safe?" Moody asked.
"Yes, Alastor. They're all here, they're all safe?"
"What's wrong?" Harry asked quickly, noticing the tense faces of Mrs. Weasley, Moody and Tonks.
"Harry dear, nothing's wrong. There was just a small riot outside the Daily Prophet and we didn't want you children walking through it."
"Riot? Why?" asked Hermione.
Moody stumped forward into the house, fixing his eye on the four of them. "There's been a motion brought to the Wizengamot trying to prove that Sirius Black was never a death eater and was completely innocent of the murder's he was imprisoned for. The people are against the motion."
Once in the library, Harry looked around and attempted to remember from where he had pulled the book. Nothing looked familiar. He knew Ron and Hermione were watching him, waiting. Exhaling loudly, he said, "I can't remember!"
Ron shrugged, "It's okay. We'll just start on research. Maybe it'll come to you." he reassured Harry.
"Maybe it means the dream you had was just a dream." Hermione said, sounding hopeful. Harry didn't agree.
"No, I was definitely being pulled down the hallway. I couldn't see who it was, but they didn't seem very big, maybe the size of a house elf." Harry stopped, a new thought occurring to him. "Ron, are you absolutely positive you saw me in bed for the whole dream?"
"What are you getting at, Harry?" Ron asked, puzzled.
"How long before you woke me up did you notice I was thrashing around?" Harry asked, getting excited.
"I don't remember, mate, maybe a minute or two." he replied.
"Oh." Harry responded, his shoulders shagging. If Ron had seen him that far in advance, there was no way.
"What, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"I thought, well, I mean, no one's seen Kreacher lately, right? That probably means he's at the Malfoys. I thought maybe Voldemort found out about some book here from Kreacher and he wanted to take a closer look at it." Saying his theory out loud made it sound ridiculous, but he noticed Hermione's eyes grow wide.
"Harry!" she cried. "Do you really think so? What color was the book? Maybe when Professors Lupin and Calabrone cleaned the library they moved it around. Kreacher wouldn't have known that--he would have told Voldemort where the book used to be!"
Harry looked at her in amazement. "Of course." He closed his eyes for a while, trying to remember. "It was red," he said at last, opening his eyes, "Red leather with gold lettering in a fancy script."
"All right then, let's get looking." Hermione commanded. For the next quarter of an hour the three of them searched the shelves.
"Nothing." Ron sighed dejectedly, slumping into one of the overstuffed chairs.
"Me either." Harry said, throwing himself into the chair next to Ron. Hermione looked sternly at the both of them, but after another minute admitted defeat as well.
"Argh!" she growled. "It's got to be here. We're just not looking properly. Maybe they moved books to another room."
"Well, Calabrone did say they were removing some of the more dangerous ones." Ron reminded them.
"Yes, but the book didn't look harmful, did it Harry?" she asked.
"No, but that doesn't mean it wasn't." he replied.
Hermione screwed up her face in concentration. "Well, we'll just have to figure out where it went."
"Harry! Ron! Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley called. "Oh, there you are." she said, entering the library. "Come along, we're going to Diagon Alley after lunch for your school supplies and to pick up Ginny."
Soon enough, the plates from lunch had been cleared and they were getting ready to leave. A clunk was heard on the stairs leading to the kitchen. Mad Eye Moody, Tonks, and two wizards Harry didn't recognize shuffled in.
"Wotcher, everyone. Ready for Diagon Alley?" Security is all set, Molly." Tonks proclaimed.
"Security?" Harry asked.
"You didn't think we'd just let you walk in Diagon Alley unguarded did you, Potter?" said Moody. "No, we've already got the advance guard out scouting the area, and the four of us," Moody jerked a thumb toward the door where Tonks stood flanked on either side by the as yet unnamed wizards, "will protecting you from all sides. Molly will be with you as well."
"Is all that necessary, Professor?" Hermione asked.
Moody fixed his real eye on her, "So long as there are Death Eaters out there, parading around as regular citizens, Potter is a target. Dumbledore's orders are to keep him safe. And that's what I intend to do."
Hermione lowered her gaze to the floor.
"All right then, everyone ready?" Moody growled. "Right. Let's move out."
They moved to the front hallway. Once outside, Mrs. Weasley grabbed Harry's hand. "All right, Harry. We'll be taking a port key to the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone got a hold? One...two...three."
Harry closed his eyes and held on. When he felt everything slowing down he slowly opened his eyes and braced himself for impact, but still managed to fall in a pile on top of Hermione, who was sprawled on top of Ron. He hastened to get up, and put a hand down to Hermione, who was very red faced and looking very embarrassed.
Ron's face was just as red. Harry smiled at the two of them.
"Let's move along." Mrs. Weasley said briskly. "Alastor and the others should have apparated by now." They followed her into the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry's eyes adjusted to the dim interior of the pub. The lunch crowd was in, several tables filled with witches and wizards chatting happily to one another. Harry smiled to Tom who was behind the counter polishing a mug. He looked about ready to greet Harry, when Mrs. Weasley shook her head violently. Tom clamped his mouth shut and merely nodded at the party.
They walked immediately to the back room where Mrs. Weasley tapped the bricks in quick succession, allowing them entrance to Diagon Alley. Harry felt a warm blast of air on his face, filled with the many smells of Diagon Alley. Walking quickly behind Mrs. Weasley, Harry soon found himself in Flourish and Blotts.
Mrs. Weasley had their class lists in her hand, "It's all right, dears, I'll get what you want. It's stuffed in here. Why don't you lot find your way to the twins' shop?" Harry looked around for some sign of his watchers, but couldn't see anything.
"Don't worry, Harry. They're there. They'll keep an eye on you." She reassured him.
Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Come on, Hermione. Let's go see the twins' shop." Hermione looked longingly at the piles of unread books. "Ginny will be there," Ron reminded her.
With this, Hermione brightened, "All right. Besides, we can always come back later if we have time." She reasoned.
Ron rolled his eyes at Harry and followed hr out the door. Turning to their left, they ambled down the street until they spotted a window display with sparks and ribbons spouting forth.
A garish orange and purple sign proudly stated 'Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes: Tricks for fun & profit'. Harry smiled; he couldn't wait to see the inside.
As they stepped across the threshold, a loud sound, like someone had stepped on a rather large bird, was heard. Looking up, they noticed a sort of horn. "That must announce when they have a customer." Said Hermione, and sure enough, moments later Fred and George burst through a curtain behind the back counter.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes!" Fred said dramatically, bowing low and pulling the lurid orange top hot from his head to sweep it low against the floor.
"Litter brother! Harry! Hermione!" exclaimed George. "But where's Mum?"
"Shopping at Flourish and Blotts for us. She'll be along later," Hermione explained.
"Wow!" breathed Ron. Harry turned his head to see what Ron was pointing at. There, stacked neatly to the left of the door, were red and yellow striped boxes. The sign on the topmost read 'Spots-in-the-box: Give the gift to a friend (or enemy). When opened, contents will color the recipients faces in Gryffindor colors. Does not face for three days. Guaranteed to upset any Slytherin.'
Harry noticed that just beyond the Gryffindor boxes were boxes with the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin colors.
"Didn't want to limit our buying market." Fred said in Harry's ear. "We started with just the Gryffindor colors, but quickly expanded."
"And here's our patron." George welcomed heartily. "What say you, Harry? Do you give your approval?"
Harry took a moment to glance around the shop. Everywhere were piles and stacks of firecrackers, food bits, trick clothing, and other jokes, pranks, and tricks of the trade. Reds, oranges, blues, purples, greens, yellows—every inch of space seemed to have a bright color splashed on it. The floor had stars painted on it; the ceiling had stripes of purple and green. The glass counter in the back was trimmed with blinking lights. All the boxes were brightly colored and the time to time a pile of products would spit or sputter and sparks or smoke would spurt forth. There were all sorts of bells and whistles, and clanks and klonks sounding. It was pure pandemonium.
"It's brilliant." Harry said honestly.
Fred and George beamed. "Ginny's been a great help, really." Said Fred. "She put herself in charge of organizing."
"Inventory." Said George.
"Decorating." Continued Fred.
"And generally running the store." Finished George.
"And we've loved every minute of it." Agreed Fred.
"Where is Ginny?" asked Hermione, idly poking at what looked like a pincushion.
"I wouldn't touch that, Hermione." Said George quickly. Pulling her finger back quickly, she glanced up at him. "It's nothing too dangerous. They just latch on and won't let go."
"Great for parties." Said Fred, ushering them to the back of the store. "Come on, come on. Lemonade and biscuits for everyone.
George waved his wand and a tray appeared, stacked with several different kinds of biscuits. They all grabbed eagerly and were snacking with enthusiasm when a loud bang was heard above them. A muffled yell was followed by several more thuds. A small puff of dust appeared from behind the purple curtain dividing the front of the store from the back.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked frantically at Fred and George, who were both grimacing.
"What wuvvat?" Ron said around a mouthful of biscuit. Hermione glared at him, but Ron just shrugged and looked at Fred and George.
"It's Ginny." Said Fred.
"No. It's Dean" corrected George.
"Dean?" Harry asked.
"Dean Thomas. He came this morning to help Ginny packed." Fred said darkly.
"And pick up his supplies for the year." Added George.
"That still doesn't explain the noise." Harry pointed out.
"Dean's been helping." Scowled George.
"Helping?" snorted Fred. "Distracting out sister is what you mean. She's been giggly and completely worthless since he arrived."
"Hey Harry!" came the familiar voice of Harry's classmate, Dean Thomas. He and Ginny stepped through the curtain together. Harry felt his stomach give an unfamiliar lurch as he noticed they were holding hands.
"Harry!" Ginny squealed. "Ron, Hermione! You're all here!" she ran forward and pulled the three of them into a hug. She'd grown over the month since school let out, Harry noticed, she was on par with Hermione.
She stepped back, beaming at him. "I'm afraid Dean lost control of my trunk carrying it downstairs." Harry noticed as Fred and George rolled their eyes. "I'm ready to go. Where's mum?"
"So anxious to leave, little sister?" asked Fred.
"And here I thought we were enjoyable. Hurt, am I, Fred. You?" lamented George.
"Wounded to the core." Responded Fred. The two pretended to console one another while Ginny shook her head at them.
"Honestly." Ginny scolded them. Dean, dragging Ginny's trunk out from the back, brought it to rest in front of the counter.
A loud squawk was heard. Moments later, Mrs. Weasley came into view, maneuvering around the piles of merchandise. "Hello Fred, George. Ginny dear, are you all packed? Oh, hello Dean. How are you?" she greeted.
"Fine, ma'am." Dean replied politely.
"It's nice of you to help Ginny. I'm sorry I have to take her away from you. Fred, George, give me a hug. I'm afraid we're in a bit of a rush. Supplies took longer to buy than expected. Moody's getting anxious." She said.
"Professor Moody?" Dean asked.
Mrs. Weasley stopped for a moment. Calming herself quickly, she started to shuffle her charges out the door. "Yes, dear, Professor Moody. Now, come along, you four. Let's go."
They all dutifully followed her out the door, calling their goodbyes to Fred, George and Dean.
Mrs. Weasley shuffled them quickly to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. Holding out a chipped tankard, she said, "Here were go. Grab a handful. We're stopping by the Burrow."
"Why the Burrow?" Harry asked.
"Not now, Harry. Just go." Mrs. Weasley said tersely. In turn, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, still clutching her trunk, all flooed to the Burrow, followed closely by Harry and Mrs. Weasley.
Brushing themselves off, Ron turned to his mother. "Mum, why did we have to go so quickly? You hardly said hello to Fred and George."
"Oh, Ron, I know dear." Mrs. Weasley began, but was cut off by two loud cracks as Moody and Tonks apparated outside the front door to the Burrow.
"Are they safe?" Moody asked.
"Yes, Alastor. They're all here, they're all safe?"
"What's wrong?" Harry asked quickly, noticing the tense faces of Mrs. Weasley, Moody and Tonks.
"Harry dear, nothing's wrong. There was just a small riot outside the Daily Prophet and we didn't want you children walking through it."
"Riot? Why?" asked Hermione.
Moody stumped forward into the house, fixing his eye on the four of them. "There's been a motion brought to the Wizengamot trying to prove that Sirius Black was never a death eater and was completely innocent of the murder's he was imprisoned for. The people are against the motion."