Chapter 2: That Blond (Not) Gentleman~
Life at the Weasley's was hardly a normal experience. Carina certainly wasn't used to the constant check-ups of Mrs. Weasley—who'd check in with them almost every hour. She washed all of their clothes, cleaned rooms, and managed to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Quite often, Mrs. Weasley offered them fourth helpings and put more than enough on their plates. Her new necklace was also a bit unsettling-the jewels would change colors according to her mood and most of the time they would be a nice emerald color, but occasionally would be a vivid ruby red with anger.
Carina wasn't complaining about Mrs. Weasley, but it was still unusual and it also prevented her from pulling pranks on Prefect Percy, who was always shut in his room. Fred, George, Ron, and Harry still hadn't forgotten, nor forgiven, them for their prank. Carina had smirked rather arrogantly when they mentioned this, and dared them to try something without absolute retaliation.
This led to an almost Cold War-like tension every time she, Mary, and Ginny were in the same room as them. Carina was confident they had the upper hand; the Marauder's Map was of no use to them outside of Hogwarts. The Prank-book was still in pristine condition and worked perfectly, much to the boy's dismay. Taunts, jeers, and whispered conversations were rampant throughout the Weasley household.
Mrs. Weasley had just set down dinner that evening, when the solid tension snapped like a rubber band. A flash of a hand and a jet of red light shot out from under the clean table, disappearing from sight as Mrs. Weasley's nostrils flared. Carina tentatively grabbed a lock of her-now slicked back fiery orange hair. She let out a small gasp—her hand was a deep shade of midnight blue. Surely her eyes were a catlike yellow.
A small smile played on her lips.
Bad idea, boys.
"Who did that?!" demanded a stern Mrs. Weasley.
Carina morphed her smile into a devilish smirk. A quick look in Fred and George's direction told her all she needed to know.
Oh yes, this was gloriously going her way.
"No one did," said Carina, turning a sickly sweet saccharine smile full force on Mrs. Weasley. "I'm a Metamorphmagus, remember?" A graceful arc shifted across her body, making it normal once more.
Mrs. Weasley's eyes softened to their chocolate brown.
"Oh yes, that's right dear." smiled Mrs. Weasley. She sat down next to Mr. Weasley, who looked curiously at Carina. He looked deep in thought, but she wasn't paying much attention to him—rather on his sons, who were giving her the most furious of glares. Her only reply to that, however, was an innocently deceiving smile. Harry and Ron narrowed their eyes at her as she tucked away her shepherd's pie happily.
It was time for the inevitable slaughter to begin.
~CFB~
Fred, George, Ron, and Harry (mainly Fred though) remained in a state of fear and paranoia most of the summer—Carina still hadn't acted on her payback, which would surely happen—and it drove them crazy. Mary was quite enjoying their leverage on them, hiding behind corners and edges and jumping out suddenly, while yelling, "Boo!"
And each time they'd storm up the worn wooden steps, slightly fearful for their well-being. Carina would smile evilly every time—she and Mary had decided to wait until Hogwarts to enact their revenge; by that time, they'd most likely have had forgotten about the War.
Carina was sitting on the large plush sofa of the sitting room when Mrs. Weasley called them all into the kitchen. She had several yellowed letters in her hands; Hogwarts letters.
"Letters from school," called Mrs. Weasley, holding up the yellowish parchment. "Nothing gets past that man, Dumbledore," she said, shaking her head at the letters.
Carina tentatively grabbed the letter addressed to her; it was the same as the previous year, although, the address had changed, seeing as she wasn't at the orphanage. It read:
"Ms. C. Black
Bedroom on the Third Floor
The Burrow"
She quickly peeled the wax stamp open and let her eyes trail down the parchment. It seemed there was a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, as they were told to receive seven new books; all written by that pompous-looking man on the pest book Mrs. Weasley owned. Another new book was required, but that seemed normal compared to all of those other Defense books.
For a moment, the feud had been forgotten, as everyone turned to look at each other in confusion.
"Did you lot get told to get all Lockhart's books, too?" asked a curious Fred.
Carina raised an eyebrow and nodded. It certainly spelled for a disastrous second year. She had read the one book the Weasley's had about pests; it might as well been written by a five year old.
"I bet the new teacher's a witch!" continued Fred wickedly.
Mrs. Weasley sent him a look that made her wince in sympathy. He quickly began eating his toast. Carina too had begun eating her toast, stacking eggs, sausage, and bacon neatly into her common breakfast sandwiches. One bite was absolutely delicious, and it definitely didn't stand a chance against the number one food eater in the world, Carina Fay Black.
"That lot won't come cheap, though." said George, daring a quick look towards his parents as Carina was pulled out of her thoughts.
"Well—we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, whose face said anything but reassurance. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."
Harry looked curious and turned to Ginny.
"Are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" he asked.
Ginny almost fell off her chair in shock; Carina had to bite her lip very hard to prevent herself from laughing loudly. Ginny nodded furiously, all the while a shade of red that a tomato would be jealous of. Mary had turned to look at Carina, sending a suggestive look towards Ginny, who was avoiding all eye contact.
Carina smirked and nodded. Ginny was absolutely infatuated with Harry. Just as she was about to open her mouth to make a snarky comment about this, Percy walked in, golden Prefect's badge glinting in the morning light.
"Morning, all," he said swiftly. "Lovely day."
She snickered as he sat down on Errol, the poor bird. Percy shot out of his seat immediately, moving the droopy owl out of his seat. Ron snatched Errol from Percy's hands, saying: "Finally, he's got Moony's answer. I wrote to her when we were going to rescue you from the Dursleys."
Carina's eye twitched.
They sent a letter to Hermione and just forgot to mention it?!
Ron began reading it out loud.
"Dear Sp—Ron, and Harry (Mary and Carina if you're there too)
I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry in trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, would you pleas—"
Carina's attention span was not long—it was a miracle she could even continue a conversation with someone at the speed she got distracted. She really couldn't help it—just more interesting things got in the way of paying attention.
The distraction was Fred pouring a thick dark substance into Ginny's porridge; even Carina had to cringe—that was not a pleasant thing to look at.
"Ew, Ginny, don't eat that porridge, all right?" said Carina suddenly, making a face towards the dark substance now sitting at the bottom of the bowl.
Ginny, who had been staring at Harry with a dreamy expression as he talked, jumped back so hard, the bowl flew right off the table, landing upside down, letting the gunky black goo trail on the floor. Carina smiled roguishly at her expression.
The commotion had caused a bit of a scene, in which everyone looked right at her, and Ginny turned an even darker shade of red, like the color of a rose. She pulled the deepest cringe Carina had ever seen and walked right up to her room; face indistinguishable between her flaming hair and burning cheeks. Mary, who'd also seen the incident happen with a look of amusement, trailed after her.
An awkward silence built as Mrs. Weasley cleaned the mess with her wand.
"That fits in nicely, we can go get all of your things too," said Mrs. Weasley, picking up the remains of the breakfast.
"Sorry, but what fits in nicely?" asked Carina, who hadn't heard their conversation.
"We're going to meet up with Moony at Diagon Alley." Harry said, an amused smile on his lips.
"Really?" she asked, "When're we going?"
"Wednesday." replied Mrs. Weasley, a bit muffled as she waved her wand around the dirty dishes.
Carina turned to Harry, who barely realized that she and him were enemies at the moment. His eyes widened and he quickly left up the stairs with Ron, who went to talk with Fred and George.
Time to prepare for Hogwarts!
~CFB~
The Wednesday morning of their date to go to Diagon Alley was a drowsy one. Carina nearly bit Mrs. Weasley's hand as she shook her awake—she valued her sleep very much.
"Ginny….move your elbowssss…" moaned Mary, who was yawning as Mrs. Weasley left the room.
Ginny let out a small grunt of acknowledgement as she shifted on the bed. She had shifted so hard, Carina, who was on the other side of the large bed, fell right off as the sheets were pulled from under her.
"I will murder you all with a rusty spoon." she snarled, slightly muffled as she got to her feet slowly.
"Later…." drawled Ginny, sprawled across the bed.
Carina shook her mass of tangled red hair. That was going to be a pain to comb back to normal—even with her powers. She really shouldn't sleep with her hair in a bun.
Although, there was an upside. Mrs. Weasley had made them all bacon sandwiches and Carina quickly devoured several after getting dressed. Mary had given Mrs. Weasley the money that Ms. Campbell had given them, so she could purchase their books for them. The Weasleys were already in the kitchen, with alertness ranging from still asleep (Ron) and to awake since the crack of dawn (Mrs. Weasley). Bombur entered the kitchen, his massive sides bouncing as he went to sit in front of her.
His wide, innocent, brown eyes peered up at her, his wrinkles making him look even sadder. Carina was tough—at least she liked to think so—but she was very, very, weak when it came to cuteness. And Bombur the pug was the precise definition of cuteness.
"Don't look at me like that!" scolded Carina, voice sounding opposite of that statement. Everyone gave a perturbed look towards her.
Bombur sat and somehow his chocolate-colored eyes got even wider, maximizing his cuteness by over 9000. Carina let out an inhumane squeal.
"Why are you so cute?!"
She put a sandwich down on the floor in front of him and his curly black tail wagged happily as he picked it up and took it to the living room. Carina smiled at him with glazed over eyes and a sickly sweet smile—the cuteness might've disabled her—had Mary not smacked her shoulder.
Harry stumbled in and Mrs. Weasley motioned them towards the fireplace.
"Harry, you first, dear," she said sweetly, holding out the clay pot full of the emerald green powder towards him.
He looked at all of them like they were insane. "W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered out.
"Prongs might as well be a Muggle, Specks," said Mary, sighing as she turned to look at Ron. "Of course he doesn't know about Floo powder."
"I keep forgetti—"
"Never?" interrupted Mr. Weasley, sounding astounded. "How did you get to Diagon Alley last time, then?"
"We went through the Underground," Harry said awkwardly.
Mr. Weasley's eyes lit up with the prospect of talking about Muggle inventions.
"Really! Were there escapators? Fellytones? Tellyshuns?!" he asked excitedly.
"Erm—"
Mrs. Weasley, who'd been looking with disproval at Mr. Weasley, saved Harry from even more silence.
"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Well, I don't know how to explain this—"
"Don't worry Mum, we'll show him." said Fred, reaching out for the shimmering powder and throwing it into the fireplace. The brightly lit fire suddenly blazed a brilliant jade green, illuminating the cramped room with odd shadows. Fred walked right up into the fire and boomed quite loudly: "Diagon Alley!"
He vanished quickly, and right after, George followed.
"Ready, Prongs?" asked Carina, smile bright as she mocked him.
Harry looked at her with a glare that could've killed someone as he walked tentatively to the fire.
"Now, don't forget to tuck in your knees—"
"Don't get out too early—"
Mrs. Weasley and Ron's advice was cut short as Harry stammered with a cough, "D-Di-Diagon Alley!"
With another flare of neon green, Harry was gone.
"My turn!" Carina screeched, and she jumped into the tickling flames.
She gasped and shut her eyes as another sight came rushing back at the speed of light—the room with the potions—the blackness swirling with a bright emerald and loud feminine screams—pain. Excruciating pain.
What is this?! My..my chest aches….fire…it burns…this didn't happen in Mrs. Campbell's fireplace though…
Carina opened her eyes after what seemed like forever, gasping for breath; the Weasleys and Mary were looking at her oddly.
"You okay, Padfoot?" asked Mary, peridot eyes flashing with concern.
"Yeah, yeah," Carina reassured her, taking a final gasp, and said quickly, "Diagon Alley!"
The Burrow disappeared as flashing fireplaces whirled by the entrance; until an abrupt stop made her fall out of a red brick grate.
"Ugh…" groaned Carina, dusting herself off as she rose from the dirty cobblestone road.
She took a quick assessment of her surroundings—rows of fireplaces lined the small building, green poofs of flame erupting as wizards and witches alike walked in and out of them. The familiar ginger hair of Fred, George, and Ginny grabbed her attention at once, which meant Mary had yet to come.
"Where's Prongs?" she asked, walking up to the Weasleys.
"I don't know," said Ron, glancing around.
Carina frowned. Harry did sound like he pronounced it wrong when he stammered through "Diagon Alley," but maybe he'd just gotten lost somewhere in the Floo Fireplaces.
Mr. Weasley arrived next, and he too looked around curiously.
"Where's Harry?" he asked.
Mary Floo-ed quickly afterwards.
"Did you fall over?" Mary teased with a smirk as she sauntered towards her.
"Yes." grumbled Carina, scowling at her smug smile.
Mrs. Weasley was the last to Floo to Diagon Alley, and she looked very worried as she counted each of them. Her face dipped almost comically when she finished.
"Oh my," she gasped. "Where's Harry?!"
Mrs. Weasley checked each grate with a swiftness Carina had never seen before. In a worry-induced speed, she flew around, cutting through large crowds and checking behind corners. The rest of the Weasleys and Mary began looking around frantically—anything that would even remotely be considered close to Harry's jet black hair. Mrs. Weasley was about to come back and panic, when a very large man caught Carina's curiosity instantly.
"Hagrid!" exclaimed Carina, turning her head to look at him closer.
He waved a large hand cheerily, and made his way towards them. A smaller boy began to get noticed behind him, trailing awkwardly by to him. He was covered in black ash and soot—this had to be Harry, that idiot.
"Prongs!" she continued, catching Mrs. Weasley's attention at once.
"Padfo—" Harry began, before Mrs. Weasley caught him quickly.
"Harry! Where did you go? We couldn't find you, I was so worried, oh my—" Mrs. Weasley was interrupted by Hagrid, who deemed it time to speak up after a very fast ramble.
"Caugh' 'im down by Knockturn Alley," Hagrid said darkly, motioning his hands behind them.
"Really! Lucky, Mum's never let us go in!" said Fred and George loudly.
"Um…Knockturn Alley?" asked Mary, who sounded as confused as Carina did.
"Knockturn Alley!" shrieked Mrs. Weasley.
"It's a shady place of Diagon Alley," said Ron, lowering his voice as Mrs. Weasley came closer.
She shoved past them, dragging Ginny along as she was hooked onto her arm. A large brush flew out of her bag and right into her arms as she began sweeping off the soot from Harry's very dusty frame. Mr. Weasley took his broken glasses, and fixed them with a tap of his wand.
"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" said Harry, after Mrs. Weasley had begun leading them towards the snowy-white building that was Gringotts.
"Who?" asked Ron.
"Malfoy and his father."
"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" Mr. Weasley cut in, sounding very interested.
"No, he was selling." said Harry, turning to Mr. Weasley.
"Ah, so he's worried," said Mr. Weasley, sounding very satisfied. "Oh…I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…."
Sounds like luscious…
"You be careful, Arthur," scolded Mrs. Weasley. "That family's nothing but trouble."
The sight of Hermione, and her parents exchanging Muggle money, cut off Mr. Weasley's remark. He rushed over to the counter, smiling brightly at them.
"But you're Muggles!" Mr. Weasley exclaimed.
Carina went to give a welcome to Hermione, but a very cold hand tapped her shoulder. She turned around quickly and let out a small gasp. It was Castiel, the odd Slytherin boy who'd caught her hiding around Hogwarts.
"Cas?" she asked curiously.
His blue eyes looked slightly sea green as he towered over her.
Did he get even taller?! Maybe I'm just shrinking…
"You dropped this." Cas said quietly, reaching out his hand.
In his hand was the yellowish parchment of the Prankbook. Carina's eyes widened.
"Oh! Thanks!" She stammered, reaching out for the parchment.
Cas nodded his head and awkwardly walked out of the ornate doors of Gringotts without a single word.
"Padfoot, we're getting on the cart!" called Mary, waving her hands out wildly.
"Going!" Carina shouted back, running towards the dull metal cart.
"Do you think we'll fit?" asked Harry, looking a bit dubious about it.
"Don't worry," smiled Mr. Weasley.
Carina crammed herself in between Hermione and Mary. At least it wouldn't be as awkward as Mary was to Fred, who was looking anywhere but down, as everyone crowded the cart.
Griphook, once again gave no warning to the unsettling lurch of the cart. It went fast, the lights of the torches glowing in the misty tunnel. It was a smaller distance than Mrs. Campbell's vault to the Weasley's—when they reached it, Mary almost fell out of the cart, Fred grabbing her arm to steady her.
"Thanks, Fred," moaned Mary, who was holding her head in pain.
Carina stayed in the cart, hoping to be in front when it went to Harry's vault. The Weasley's vault made Carina feel a bit uncomfortable—inside was a small pile of silver Sickles and only one gold Galleon. She shifted when they all crammed back inside the cart. Harry also looked anxious as the cart hurtled down towards his vault. Carina was slightly curious as to what Harry had in his vault—not that she would judge—but she was curious. It was like an itch, an itch that wouldn't go away until she satisfied her need to know.
The cart screeched to a stop at a rather deep vault. Harry opened it hastily and tried to block the inside, but Carina could see the glint of the gold shining out past him and reflecting on his glasses. Harry had no reason to try and hide it—it was blatantly obvious that he had lots of gold. She didn't think the Weasleys would mind at all, as they waited calmly for Harry to shove large amounts of gold into his bag.
As soon as they all got back from the vaults, everyone left. Percy went to get a new quill, the twins found Lee Jordan, Mrs. Weasley went to a robe store, and Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking Hermione's parents for a drink.
"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to get the schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, departing with a rather awkward looking Ginny at her side.
They all walked around aimlessly, curiously looking at the many sights that Diagon Alley had to offer. One shop in particular caught Mary's attention, however.
"No way! Ice cream!" she screeched, jumping up and down as Carina was pulled with her iron like grip.
"Way to yell in my ears," muttered Carina, not at all happy with her loudness.
The inside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour was bright and colorful, but the apple of the shop was the flavors. Large tubs of fresh cold ice cream hidden behind clear glass panes were just waiting to be devoured. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had all wanted strawberry and peanut butter, which they took happily. Carina got an interesting looking one, salted caramel blondie, and Mary got chocolate-layered chocolate ice cream. It was absolutely delicious, and Carina wasted no time at all in attempting to finish it—it seemed it would never melt.
Ron had stopped them all outside of Quality Quidditch Supplies to look at the bright orange set of the Chudley Cannon robes shining in the sunlight. Hermione saved them there, as she dragged them to buy parchment and ink next door. Carina and Mary had to stop at Gambol and Japes Wizarding Shop, which had been around since Marauder times, as some things they required were listed in there. She had distracted the boys by setting off one of their Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks, which led to the shop owners throwing them all out—except for Mary, who would buy the necessary materials for their Hogwarts revenge.
Percy, who had been in a junk shop next door, came out and raged at the twins for making him lose his page in his book, Prefects Who Gained Power. Carina snickered as they left them for dead by Percy.
It seemed an hour had blown away fast as they made their way to the oddly crowded store of Flourish and Blotts. Middle-aged witches and some wizards crowded the front of the shop as they all clambered around to try and get in. Carina noted large banner stretched across the windows: "GILDEROY LOCKHART will be signing copies of his autobiography MAGICAL ME today 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m."
"Great." Carina grumbled. Her reaction was almost opposite of Hermione's, who squealed: "We can actually meet him! I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
"Moony, please don't tell me you actually like Lockhart?" asked Mary.
Hermione didn't reply, but blushed a faint pink color. A harassed-looking wizard waited by the door, attempting to calm the stampede. They had somehow managed to squeeze inside. A long line wound around the entire store, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. Hermione had grabbed them all a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and dragged them off towards Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, who were nearly at the front of the line.
"Oh, there you are, good," Mrs. Weasley said out of breath. "We'll be able to see him in a minute…"
Carina grimaced.
"Prongs, you sure you want to be shown off by Lockhart?" asked Mary calmly, already moving to hide him from sight.
"It's not like he won't see me eventually," Harry said dejectedly.
It was time to put her skills to use.
"If you have to suffer, I might as well enjoy it," she smirked, becoming the duplicate of Harry once more. It was a bit weird, from her short feminine frame morphing into Harry's taller thin frame, but it was worth it from his reaction.
His eyes widened.
"You wouldn't," gasped Harry.
"Try me," replied Carina sarcastically. "Get him, Leo."
Mary sighed but grabbed Harry and pulled him behind Mr. Weasley, who wisely said nothing. She transfigured a small bit of wire into some glasses like the ones Harry wore, and put them on her face awkwardly. Carina pulled her necklace from around her neck and stuffed it from her pocket as a loud shout from the egotistical blond man made her jump.
"It can't be Harry Potter?" he all but shouted.
The once overbearing crowd parted quickly, prompting Lockhart to lock onto her arm quickly. Whispers flew from every direction, ranging from excited and exasperated, as he pulled her to the front where a short, red-faced, irritated man took pictures quickly. Applause from the crowd made Lockhart smile even more as he went to shake her hand.
"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart through his own bright gleaming smile. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."
Carina smiled a smile as large as Lockhart's; all the while the photographer took dozens of pictures with blinding flashes and dark plumes of smoke. He then threw an arm behind her shoulders.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he began loudly. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography-which I shall be happy to present to him now, free of charge-" The crowd gave way to loud cheers and applause. "He had no idea," Lockhart shook her slightly, making the wire glasses fall down her nose. "that he would be shortly getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
"No way!" Carina couldn't hold her shock and laughter back.
Lockhart boomed a laugh and shoved lots of books into her arms. The crowd cheered and clapped as Lockhart bowed and smiled at them. Carina caught sight of Ginny, standing in the corner with her new cauldron. Time for her escape.
"Gin, thank god, here, you take these," she mumbled, throwing them all in her new cauldron. "Oh, it's me, Carina." She momentarily made her eyes gray and Carina smiled slyly at Ginny's red face.
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a cold voice that was sadly familiar to Carina.
She pulled herself to Harry's full height and was face to face with Malfoy, who was sneering like always.
"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Why, are you jealous?" Carina smirked, eyebrows high in faux-surprise. Malfoy spluttered, and changed tacks quickly.
"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" he drawled, attempting to regain his pretense of calm indifference.
Ginny flushed and Carina went to help her there.
"Must be hard to tell the difference between a friend and a girlfriend for you, Malfoy, seeing as you don't have either," said Carina, basking in Ginny's relieved laughter from behind her.
Malfoy went pink in anger, and Ron came into view.
"Oh, it's you," said Ron, a look of disgust on his face. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy, turning to face Ron. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."
Ron went red, and Carina was having difficulty from seeing anything as her own eyesight went red. Luckily, Mary shoved a disheveled Harry into view and Carina was allowed to go back to her normal angry self. Pitch black curly-haired, and red-eyed, Carina was about to lunge for him—had not Mr. Weasley interrupted both her and Ron.
"Ron! What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."
Carina allowed herself to be steered by Mary, who looked like she was having difficulty restraining herself as well.
"Well, well, well—Arthur Weasley," sneered Malfoy senior, who looked exactly like an older Draco Malfoy blocking the path to the door.
This must be Luscious.
"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," Luscious drawled. "All those raids…I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and from the very bottom grabbed a copy of a very old, very battered, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
Overstepping your boundaries, much?
"Obviously not," sneered Mr. Malfoy. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr. Weasley flushed darker than Ron and Ginny.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he replied.
"Luscious is rude." Carina muttered angrily, hoping to draw some tension out. Mr. Weasley laughed coldly, and so did her friends.
Mr. Malfoy looked at her with a cool glare.
"And who might you be, another Weasley spawn?" spat Luscious bitterly.
"Actually, it's Carina, Carina Black," retorted Carina, nostrils flaring. "Miss Black will do, however, seeing as my name shouldn't be tarnished by the likes of you."
Luscious gave her a stricken look, followed by a look of indifference as he faced Mr. Weasley.
"The company you keep, Weasley…I thought your family could sink no lower…" he said, lip curling as he gazed at Hermione's parents.
Ginny's cauldron went flying with a loud clank of metal. Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Luscious, knocking him backwards into a bookshelf. Spellbooks fell in dozens above them, as the brawl continued. Dust flew from the shelves as they fell, making it a hazy view as the dark brown plumes curled to rest on the already dirty floor.
"Get him, Dad!" yelled Fred or George amidst the chaos, and Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "No, Arthur, no!"
The crowd backed away from them as more shelves got knocked over. Swirling brown dust was visible through the rays of light from outdoors. The assistant tried to break it up, with pitiful attempts of calming. "Gentlemen, please, please!" But a booming voice finally was successful. It was Hagrid.
"Break it up, there, gents, break it up-" he said, moving to pull them apart as he waded through the thick crowd of people and books. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Luscious had a bruised eye after being hit with an encyclopedia. He shot a furious glare at Mr. Weasley, and turned his focus onto Ginny, who was standing next to him.
"Take your book, girl—it's the best your father can give you," snarled Luscious, shoving Ginny her tattered Transfiguration book that he miraculously kept hold of. He pulled a flushed Malfoy out of the shop and left quickly, dust flying as he stormed out.
"How rude." commented Carina, as if she was the poster-child for manners.
"That whole family's rotten ter the core," muttered Hagrid approvingly. "Let's get outta here."
They walked outside, leaving the now-mess of a bookshop behind as they walked into the warm afternoon sunlight.
~CFB~
I'M SORRY—I'VE BEEN COMPLETELY SWAMPED WITH SCHOOLWORK! It shouldn't have taken a month to update—sorry about that, again—I've been writing in my spare time, and I've come up with new ideas for future chapters and books that I can't wait to write up. Also! I would like to make each title a song title (these have been P!ATD titles that are slightly modified, but who knows what I'll change in them) Updates will happen—they might be a bit slower than usual, though, so see y'all next time, m'kay. –Pugatron.
R/R is appreciated, but you don't have to if you don't want to. ;)