Chapter Two – A bit of Business

"Your kid maybe be a honour student bur you're an idiot"  

The next day I woke up early so I could finish packing – or, in other words, start. Once I was done, I sat on my bed and looked around the room. I always have a bad feeling that I have left something behind – most likely because I always have. It was about then my stomach told me I was hungry, so I headed downstairs, still in my PJ's. On my way down my father's voice hit me.

"I just don't understand the opposite sex, and too make it worse – teenage girls."

"Man, I always wondered how we made it through those years."

"And you were the lucky one. I had someone try and kill me every year, and the one year I didn't, no one would let me out of the castle."

This is when I decided to enter the kitchen. "Oh poor little baby, weren't you allowed out of the castle? I'm so sad I'm going to cry." Then I turn to the other man in our kitchen. "Morning Papa R."

"Morning Ject."

"Where's My Brother?"

"Still in bed."

For the first time I looked at my watch. "Shit, it's only 7:30, what the hell I'm doing up?"

"Watch your language. By the way, what were you doing up at 6.30? And Good Morning to you too," my father butted in.

"Sorry, did forget to say good morning to you? How silly, it must be from all the fun we had last night at dinner. Man, what's happening to this world?"

"I'm sorry."

"Doesn't matter."

"Someone…"

"I said it doesn't matter, get a clue!"

The silence told me that he could be sorry or that he couldn't think what to say, or both, or… I think I think way too much, but I can tell you that I am not sorry.

"Hey, Ject, why don't you go and wake up Ben?" Good old Papa R, always trying to break the tension between Dad and I.

"Well, I guess it will be more fun than staying here."

"So you're going in your PJ's?" my father asked

"Yes." I ran out of the house and across the street into the Weasley's house. I love their house it was more homely than ours.

You see Ben is my best friend. Well, you see we are the same age and our parents are best friends, so at the beginning we were made to do things together. Then it became habit, and now we know everything about each other, so it's easier to stay best friends than making new ones.

He is the son of Hermione and Ron Wesley. They have three other children: Juliette, who is about to go in to the 3rd year; Ashley, who's just about to start; and Sarah who is nine.

"Hey, Auntie Mione, how's your morning?" I greeted Hermione on my way through the kitchen.

"Good Good! Why are you up so early?" she asked, and I'm sure she nearly fell over in shock.

"Just waiting to see what the day will bring, Ben upstairs?"

"Yes, and just so you know, he's asleep."

"Yeah, time to wake up."

"OK, just don't wake up Sarah."

"OK."

I walked into Ben's room, where he was sleeping. I hoped on to his bed and started jumping – my favourite exercise.

"Benjamin! It's morning! Rise and Shine!" I sang.

"Jay, what time is it? It's too early," he said in a whiny voice.

"It's time to get up."

"Bugger off!"

"Benjamin Wesley! Get up, we are going back to Hogwards today and you have to pack."

"You forget who I live with. My mum made me pack yesterday," he grumbled.

I hopped off his bed and looked around the room for something that I could throw at him to get him out of bed. The beginning of my search was well out of luck; he didn't have a glass of water by his bed. I moved to his dresser, but nothing looked promising there. I walked out of his room, and as I was leaving I heard him mutter something like "night". I wandered into the bathroom, where I started looking, trying to find something that would work best. That is when Juliette walked in.

"Hey what are you doing?" she said to me giving me the funny eyes.

"Looking for something to get your brother out of bed – got any good ideas?"

"Glass of water."

"That was my first idea, but it's too used."

She started to look around the room. "What about shampoo… or is that to used?" she said, and at the last bit as she rolled her eyes.

I grinned at her. "It's been used, but then he would have to get up and have a shower. Wake him up just that little bit more."

I grabbed the shampoo and left so she could get ready. Once back in Ben's room, I jumped on his bed again.

"OK, Benjamin, I will give you two second to get out of bed."

He grumbled at me.

"One, two – too late, my friend."  I hopped off the bed and aimed the bottle at him, getting ready to run. I started by putting it through his hair, making sure to coat it properly. Then slowly down his nose and back toward his ear.

I pushed the bottle hard so I got a good shot. At this point he either woke up or got what I was doing. He jumped up fast, and blocked my way to the door. He put a finger in his ear. I threw the bottle out the window – let's just say I didn't want to be covered in shampoo so I didn't want him to have the bottle. He did jump and try to get the bottle but it was too late the bottle was gone and as he jumped for the bottle he gave me a clear route to the door.

"I'm going to kill you," he said in a loud voice.

"Keep it down, Sarah's sleeping," I said, trying to keep him calm.

"So?"

This is when I knew there would be no way out, so I ran for the door and practiced jumping down the stairs. Ben was right on my heels, but about now is when my luck shot up.

We ran into Hermione.

"What is all this noise?" She glowered at us both; and let me tell you, there's nothing quite so scary as Hermione's wrath.

I went for the upper hand. "Well, I tried to tell Benjamin that we had to be quiet, but he started to chase me."

Ben looked up at his Mum and was about to get started in on me, but she saw his hair and sighed. "What is that in your hair, Ben?"

"Shampoo, I think by the smell of it, but you might want to ask Jay," he said sulkily.

"I do not know what you're talking about, you started chasing me. Where is your evidence?" I asked sweetly, innocently. He's not going to get one on me. In Sixteen years he hasn't – why start now?

"Out my wind…" he started

"OK. Fine. I see I am not going to get an answer. Ben, go and have a shower – wash your hair. Ject, breakfast is on the table." She sighed and walked away.

I smirked at Ben and quickly followed so he couldn't try anything. Hermione walked in the kitchen, I went into the dinning room Juliette was already sitting at the table, so I joined her, doing my best to uphold the look of perfect innocence.

"I see you are going to have as much fun as you have had in the last couple of years." Juliette eyed me carefully. She knew the drill.

"You want to join?" I said and gave her a big grin.

"I prefer to do other things than sit all day in detention," she said, as she smirked back at me.

"Oh, it's not so bad – you'll get used to it."

"Right! Just time wasting."

We both started into our breakfast. OK don't get the wrong idea about Juliette, she cool. A bit of a goody good but still cool. She'll help play jokes on her siblings, and she not really a telltale. She just doesn't like doing detention and stuff, so she's good most of the time. When she does do something bad, no one thinks it's her, because she's the teacher's pet.

Bribes will keep her quiet.

"So, anyway, me and Ben have got Ashley to believe that to get sorted, you had to fight a troll – you in? We got the idea from Uncle Fred and George." Like that, see? Juliette has not the slightest qualm about telling her younger sister that she has to do something nasty, and make her suffer. Of course, it wouldn't be an initiation into Hogwarts without the terror and the strange relief when you find out all you have to do is talk to a hat.

"Yeah I am in, where is she, anyway?" Poor Ashley. She's a Weasley. She doesn't stand a chance. Not only is she shaking in her shoes about not getting into Gryffindor, she's going to be up against an imaginary troll. If I was her I'd be under my bed, with the door to my room locked, refusing to come out.

"Sleeping, she was up late – nerves and all." No kidding.

"Man, this is why I wish a had brothers and sisters."

"You would rip them to shreds, poor people!"

"I know. It would be great."

"Do you know what will be great? When I rip your head off, that will be great," a voice said from behind me. I didn't need to turn to know it was Ben.

"In with the love, out with the hate. Anyway, you cannot kill me because Sarah is still asleep and you'll get in trouble."

"I'll do it quickly and quietly." He's so much fun in the mornings.

"I will scream if you come any closer." And if I'm dead he'll be the one who gets in trouble. It's win-win.

"Fine, you'll just have to wait till we are at school. Has Uncle Fred and George been?" he said as he sat at the table.

"Not yet, but if they are not here soon…" I stopped. Ben and I both looked up at Juliette.

You see we work for them in a silent way. They own a joke shop, and when they make new things we get to try them out at school to see how well they work, or we sell at school and send the orders to our bosses, Fred and George, who pay us.

"You know if Mum finds out that you are doing that stuff again, you will be in shit," Juliette said in a 'I've got you' voice.

"What do you want for your silence?" Ben asked.

"What have you got?"

Ben looked at me.

"Fine, I will do your potions homework for a week."

"Two months."

"Two weeks and that's our final offer."

"A month, remember I am doing something for you."

I looked at Ben and he did his puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, a month." I reached over the table and put my hand out so she could shake it.

Two noises went off like a gunshot as Juliette said, "Deal."

"What's the deal?" said one of the two people who had just Apparated into the room.

"We just brought her silence about this business deal that's about to take place, or rather – not take place," Ben told Fred and George as they placed themselves at the table and brought out a briefcase.

"What did you buy it with?" George asked.

"For Jay to do her potions homework for a month," Ben told them.

"Okay, why do you want to do your own homework, let alone someone else's?" Fred asked.

"Because Jay can do potions," Ben said, like it was yesterday's news.

"So, it's still homework," was George's answer.

"Because I can do poison, but Snape doesn't give me the marks because I am a Potter. This way I can still get great marks," I told them.

"Whatever tickles your fancy," Fred said.

 Then as if it were the same person talking, George said, "Let's get down to business."

All I wanted to know was, 'Do they practice that or is it like magic?"

A/N Big thanks to my beta, who has to go to the ends of the earth and back, just for my fic. You should go and read her great stories, they are the best. Her pen name is Kazzy.

Please Review and nice ones, my car died today and still won't start and my lifelines are on holiday, while I have to go to work.