The Black Twins

Albus's plan failed, the war was lost. But his forgotten brother, Aberforth, has a plan too, a plan 'B', a plan that no normal person would even imagine, much less put into action. Then again; Aberforth has never really been normal. His plan, however, had consequences not even he could imagine, and it slipped and twisted from his grasp, laughing wildly as it dove into the realms of chaos. Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your broomsticks, the Black twins are coming to Hogwarts. MWPP era.

TBT

One Year later… Mm-kay : )

The Calm Before the Storm

TBT

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr Black,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry grinned, all but glowing with pride as he read his letter over once more while waiting at the top of the stairs for his brothers. The letters had arrived with yesterday's post, Sirius had got an identical one, and now today they were going to Diagon Alley to buy all their school supplies.

"HAR-RY!" Sirius yelled from their bedroom.

"WHAT?!" he yelled back.

"ARE YOU WEARING MY CLOAK?!"

"WHAT?!" Harry yelled again, just for the sake of it.

"ARE YOU –WEARING–MY–CLOAK?!"

Harry grinned at the frustrated tone layering his twin's voice, "WHY?" he could just picture Sirius grinding his teeth together.

"JUST TELL ME!"

Harry looked down at the outer-cloak he was wearing, oh so that's why it felt a little bigger than usual. The ends were dragging on the ground, and the sleeves were hanging off his arms.

"You are wearing my cloak!" Sirius accused as he shuffled out the bedroom.

Harry looked up, and had to bite his lip in an effort not to burst out laughing. Sirius had somehow managed to squeeze himself into the smaller cloak, it was way too tight on him and finished above his ankles, he looked ridiculous.

"Mmpf," Harry snorted, beginning to lose the battle with his brother looking so pathetic.

Sirius growled at him, "We are switching," and began to undo the silver fastenings. Harry just nodded, turning away quickly before it became too much, and shrugged off the cloak.

RRRIPPP!

The two boys froze at the loud tearing noise, and for a second Harry thought it had been him.

"Err…" Harry whipped back around to see Sirius holding up a clearly ruined cloak, "… oops?"

"SIRI!"

"I didn't mean to!"

Harry groaned and walked over to examine the damage, a large tear went all the way down the side.

"We can fix it…" Sirius now looked anxious, "can't we?"

"Not unless you want to ask our parents,"

"Bugger, sorry."

Harry grunted, "Oh well, here's your cloak," he tried to hand Sirius the overlarge cloak. But Sirius shook his head.

"No, you wear it; I ripped yours, so it's only fair,"

"I'm not going to take your cloak, Sirius," Harry rolled his eyes, "besides its too big,"

"Yeah but you can still wear it, it's cold and wet outside,"

"Siri-us..." Harry whined.

"Har-ry…" his brother imitated.

Harry huffed, "Fine." He turned around and threw the cloak back on, so he didn't see the small smile playing on his brother's lips.

Why does he always do that? Harry mutinously thought as he fastened the silver ties once more. Sirius was so overprotective; he was always sticking his neck out for Harry and would blow up at the smallest thing against his twin, at times this could just be recklessly stupid. Though Harry had soon learnt it was better to give in over the little things, or the arguments would be never-ending.

"Hey guys, are you ready?" Regulus stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him. Regulus, now ten-years-old, looked like a smaller, more timid, version of Sirius. Both his and Sirius's hair fell casually around their faces with graceful ease. Harry had always been annoyed that his hair hadn't seemed to pick up the habit; it had a more ruffled appearance, not unattractive… but still…

"We are now you're here," Harry grinned, throwing an arm around Regulus's shoulders. The younger Black frowned at him.

"Harry, do I need to ask why you're wearing Siri's cloak?"

"Ask us no questions–"

"–And we'll tell you no lies." Sirius finished, and he unceremoniously threw the ruined cloak back into their room.

Regulus just rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Come on, the sooner we get downstairs the sooner we can leave."

"I've always said you're the smart one Reg." Sirius declared happily, slinging an arm round the other side of Regulus as they began to trek downstairs.

"No. You've always said he's the snobbish one," Harry kindly corrected him.

"Lies! Don't listen to him Reg, I do nothing but respect and value you."

"Oh so you value my opinion do you?" Regulus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course!"

"And if my opinion was that you are an arrogant prat?" Regulus smirked.

Sirius opened his mouth, frowned, and shut it, pouting at a laughing Harry. "You've been corrupting him, haven't you," he accused his twin. But the black-haired trio were interrupted before Harry could answer.

"BOYS! If you don't hurry up now, you can forget about Hogwarts and we'll send you to Durmstrang!"

Harry and Sirius paled and quickened their pace down the stairs. No matter if they ended up in Slytherin at Hogwarts, it would still be better than Durmstrang, where they knew the students learnt the Dark Arts. Panting for breath from their rush, the three boys reached the entrance hall, where their Mother was waiting. Orion Black wasn't coming as he was 'far too busy for shopping', but he had gone and got some money from Gringotts the other day.

Walburga met her sons with a glare, her dark eyes cold as her lips curled in a spiteful sneer. "Blacks do not gasp for breath, nor do they run!" Her nostrils flared with distaste as the boys tried to regain control of their breathing. "They walk with the dignity and pride that is fitting of the Noble House of Black. They have refined grace, appropriate decorum and proper etiquette, they have superior and purer blood in their veins, and you three will do well not to forget that! This is the first time since your last atrociously shameful visit to Diagon Alley," she fixed the twins with an icy glower, "and I will not have re-enactment of that disgraceful incident. Do you understand?!" she shrieked the question.

The 'incident' happened the last time the twins had gone to Diagon Alley. Sirius and Harry had snuck off to explore 'Gambol and Japes', which sold a wide variety of tricks and practical joke items. They were looking for something to prank their family with, and accidentally set off some easy-to-start fireworks. To their amazement the fireworks had shot up and soared right over Gringotts, to land on the other side, right in the stationary store, 'Scribbulus Ever-changing Inks'. Unfortunately that day the stationary store had been having a sale on flammable ink (why you needed flammable ink in the first place was still a mystery to the twins) and of course the fact that the stationary store sold stacks of parchment didn't help either. Needless to say the explosion drew quite a scene, luckily though, nobody was injured. But even to this day there were still Irremovable Ink stains splattered on the outside walls of 'Flourish and Blotts'. Their Mother had been absolutely mortified; Harry and Sirius had been more worried about the 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' shop that had been right next door.

Now though, they all replied a solemn "Yes," to their Mother, who gave them all another disapproving sneer. Ten minutes later, the four Blacks stood in the Floo entrance of the 'Leaky Cauldron'.

TBT

"What are you wearing?" Walburga asked in a horrified tone, finally noticing the overlarge cloak Harry wore. Harry went to answer but his Mother cut him off, "It looks like a common hand-me-down," she hissed, lowering her voice as if it was the most embarrassing idea. "And you," she turned to Sirius, "Where is your outer-cloak? You're walking around in just your robes! What will people think? Blacks are expected to look perfect in every aspect, and those cloaks are the finest money can buy,"

"I couldn't find it," Sirius drawled lazily, looking as if he couldn't care less. (And he probably didn't).

Harry watched warily as his Mother's nostrils flared, and her eyes narrowed. For a moment it looked like she would smack Sirius again, but then she just pursed her lips and turned away. Sirius smirked at her back, caught Harry's eye, and winked. It was unbefitting of Black behaviour to hit someone in public, and Walburga stuck to her rules like they had divine meaning. Harry rolled his eyes at his twin's antics and let his gaze drift around the pub.

It was the same as usual, dark and shabby yet somehow welcoming. A youngish man in his early thirties was Sourgifying glasses behind the wooden bar. Tom was the new owner of the Leaky Cauldron, and was a real friendly guy. The tables around the pub were mostly empty except for… oh bugger.

"Walburga! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Loretta, my, aren't you looking fabulous! As always of course." Gone was the sneering monster, Walburga was suddenly fawning over her friend. Harry and Sirius pulled identical grossed out faces, Regulus laughed nervously. It was almost scary how quickly their Mother could change moods.

Loretta was a tall lady, at least a head taller then Walburga. Loretta had long shiny blonde hair and she wore silvery blue robes, draped gracefully around her.

"Thank you dearest, you're too kind. Oh have you met my son, Lucius?"

Harry and Sirius quickly perked up at the mention of a son, but soon faded again as they watched a boy, obviously older, rise majestically from a chair and saunter forward answering his mother's call.

"Yes Mother?" Lucius drawled, flicking curious cold eyes towards the three brothers. Lucius was tall with long blonde hair like his mother, yet as he smirked and stuck a hand in the pocket of his black robes, he seemed to radiate an intimating aurora.

"This is Walburga Black and her sons… err…"

"Sirius, Harry and Regulus," Walburga graciously supplied.

"Right!" Loretta smiled silkily, "We're shopping for Hogwarts supplies, well, Lucius is anyway. He's in fifth year this year, a Prefect, would you believe!"

"Oh yes? How nice. The twins are starting this year," Walburga gestured in the boys' general direction.

"Are they now?" Loretta turned her pale blue eyes onto Harry and Sirius, scrutinising them, as if decided if they were good enough to eat. "Hmm, well Lucius will be able to watch out for them in Slytherin, won't you dear?"

"Of course, Mother." Lucius haughtily replied, flicking the hair out of his eyes with a toss of his head.

Loretta smiled sickly-sweetly at him, before her eyes widened curiously. "Say Walburga, wasn't it your boys who blew up the stationary store a few months ago?"

Walburga's lips thinned considerably, and her nostrils flared for an instant before the smile was back (albeit more strained then before). Sirius made a choking sound next to Harry, sounding suspiciously like he was trying not to laugh.

"Loretta, we haven't talked in ages, let's sit down and have a drink shall we?" Walburga carefully avoided, "I'll give the twins some money and they can go off and buy their school things,"

"Oh that'd be lovely, Lucius will stay with the boys, won't you dear?"

A flash of annoyance crossed the fifteen-year-old's face at being pinned babysitter, but he agreed as smoothly as ever.

"Oh, great," Harry heard Sirius mutter behind him, "Stuck with a puffed-up peacock."

Now Harry was the one choking.

"Splendid," Walburga simpered, before clasping a painfully tight hand on Sirius's shoulder and turning her back on the blonde aristocrats. "Listen here you," Walburga hissed under her breath to her three children while handing them a bag of chinking wizard money, "The Malfoy's are an extremely wealthy pure-blood family with good connections, second only to the Black family. You will be on your best behaviour, no exceptions, do I make myself clear?"

"By 'no exceptions' do you mean–"

"Do I make myself clear?" Walburga spat, interrupting Sirius.

"Yes Mother," they answered.

Walburga gave them all one last glare as if to say I'm watching you, and then they were shooed off under the sneering gaze of adolescent boredom. Harry stood behind Regulus in his overlarge cloak, while Lucius whipped out his wand with unnecessary flourish and opened the way.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley," he drawled sarcastically, pocketing his wand again in the same flamboyant manner. He was really starting to get on Harry's nerves, and by the look of Sirius's glower, his twin felt the same way.

Though, as Lucius moved aside to give them the familiar sight of their favourite alley, their feelings of annoyance weakened. Shops sprawled out before them, jumbling into one another as if clamouring for attention. Throngs of wizards and witches of all shapes and sizes moved about the stores pointing at items or reading lists in their hands, hissing and screeching could be heard from the nearby pet store, and somewhere a catchy – yet somehow moving tune was playing, just amplifying the feeling of magic. (come on, you know the one : )

Sirius and Harry pushed their way down the street behind the Malfoy boy, trying to take in everything. Even though they had been here many times, it always seemed just as interesting and exciting as their first visit. Everything was a blur of colours and noise. Rain had fallen recently, so they often had to avoid puddles by jumping over them, but with so much to distract them the boys soon found their shoes soaked through.

When they went past 'Quality Quidditch Supplies', Harry stopped short, staring through the window.

"Whoa," Sirius breathed next to him, also staring at the new Nimbus 1000 on display.

"It's the fastest model of brooms yet," Harry murmured eyes locked on the broom as if he could memorise every twig and curve.

"Don't even bother looking," Lucius said with contempt from behind them, "that old fool Dumbledore doesn't allow first years to have brooms, not even prestigious Blacks." Harry and Sirius reluctantly drew away from the window, Harry with only one last longing look back. "Now stop lagging behind" Lucius ordered haughtily. The twins scowled at his pretentious back, and that annoyed feeling returned.

Next they past the newly restored 'Scribbulus Ever-Changing Inks' stationary store, the owner stood out the front polishing a sign with an ink stained rag. The man had tuffs of orange hair poking out from a tartan hat, and a red face as if he'd been in the sun for too long. He gave a satisfied nod at the now sparkling sign and turned around just as the twins past.

"GAH!" he yelled, his face went a few shades redder, and he spread out his arms protectively in front of his store. A few shoppers stopped and stared at his strange reaction, but he just continued to glare at the twins while they past.

Harry gave a cheeky wave at the man, who went as red as a tomato in anger.

"YOU–YOU–!" the man spluttered, veins starting to pop out on his temple. Sirius barked with laughter next to Harry, and they ran to catch up to Lucius who hadn't noticed the commotion.

Their first stop of the day was 'Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions', Sirius groaned when he saw it, he hated clothes shopping. Lucius swept into the store arrogantly, only a touch disgruntled by having to touch the door handle with his cotton spun gloves. Inside was the young, smiling, but squat witch; Madam Malkin, dressed all in mauve.

"Hogwarts, dear?" she asked Harry, and then more flatly, "Oh, Mr. Malfoy, you're here too," her smile slipped a bit.

"Only for these two," Lucius drawled, looking down his nose at the witch.

"Two? Oh my, twins! How lovely," Madam Malkin smiled at Sirius, eyes flicking back and forth between him and Harry as if playing 'Spot the Difference'.

Luckily it didn't take too long to get all the school robes done. But the relief was short-lived as they were dragged from shop to shop buying their cauldrons, crystal phials, weighing scales, collapsible silver telescopes, and going to 'The Apothecary' for some basic potions ingredients. Usually it would have been fun to explore Diagon Alley like this, but Lucius' presence seemed to dampen the shop-keepers attitudes – obviously the Malfoy boy wasn't well loved around here. Really it wasn't any better then shopping with their mother, and the twins slowly became bored with the day, as well as frustrated at the fifteen-year-old when he wouldn't even let them stop by 'Gambol and Japes'. Regulus was also usually more fun, but Lucius' company had made him shy and nervous. Finally they headed down to 'Ollivanders' to buy their wands, something the twins had been eagerly anticipating for a long time.

The shop was narrow and shabby, with peeling gold letters over the door, and a single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside, but other then that it was dead silent. Thousands of narrow boxes were piled neatly up to the ceiling, and the odd atmosphere made the Black boys feel strangely subdued.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. All of them jumped, but Lucius quickly tried to pretend he was unruffled. An old man was suddenly standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"Mr. Ollivander," Lucius greeted politely, and the man turned his unnerving gaze to the older boy.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy. 13¼ inches, Elm with a dragon heartstring core, wasn't it?" Lucius's jaw tightened slightly; and he gave a stiff nod of affirmation. "Hmm," Ollivander hummed, thoughtfully. Then his eyes flicked to Harry.

"And Mr. Potter, back are we? Was there a problem?"

…huh? Was Harry's only thought as he stared blankly at the man. Ollivander's silvery eyes flashed in the dim light, "hmm no…no, I can see I'm mistaken."

Then he moved towards Harry so fast he could have Apparated, standing almost nose to nose so Harry could see his reflection in those creepy misty eyes. "And who might you be?"

Harry wished the man would blink, "Uh," what was my name again? "H-Harry, Harry Black." Ollivander narrowed his eyes very slightly, and the misty eyes went a touch more focused then before.

"Really…" the old man breathed – sounding as if he didn't believe Harry. "Very nice eyes you have Harry, only seen one other with eyes like yours."

Now Harry was really confused, is he hitting on me?

Ollivander pulled back, much to Harry's relief, "Black, eh? Of which descendants?" he asked sharply.

"Oh… um," help me, this guy's insane.

"Orion and Walburga Black," Sirius said, stepping up to Harry's side.

"I see. So, you are the infamous Black twins? Your Mother, Walburga; 9 inch, unyielding, yew wood, good with curses, and your Father; 11½ inch, rigid, hawthorn, good with transfiguration," he rattled off easily, as if that was all there was worth knowing about the Black seniors. "Well, now – Messrs Black. Let me see." He pulled out a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which are your wand arms?"

"Right," they both answered.

Next began the search for the right wand, resulting in a huge pile up of discarded wands on the counter. Sirius found his after only fifteen minutes, 11¾ inch, maple, quite striking, dragon heart-string. Harry was having more trouble. As time neared closer to the half-hour mark he was feeling increasingly worried, what happens if I can't find one? Does that mean I'm a… squib? No– no I can't be! I just can't! Even Sirius and Lucius were looking on a little edgily as Harry tried and discarded wand after wand, Regulus shifting nervously on the single chair in the shop. Ollivander, however, just seemed to get happier with every failure.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find you one!"

But ten more minutes past with no success and now even Ollivander was looking at Harry strangely (even stranger than usual that is).

"No, no, that's not right either," the old man snatched the wand out of Harry's hands and put it on the counter with the rest. It looked like more then half the shop of wands was now in the pile. Ollivander rubbed a thoughtful hand over his chin, peering down at Harry, and silence fell completely in the store.

This is it; he's going to tell me I'm a squib, despaired Harry. Ollivander's eyes now looked much graver then they did before, and he turned and stared off into the back of the shop seeming in deep thought.

"Perhaps…" he said, and disappeared out into the rows of shelves, leaving the room still in uncomfortable silence. Then he was back again, his creepy eyes now seeming to glow. "Here. Try this one," he said, almost ominously, as he held out a narrow box. The lid was off, showing the wand inside, "11 inches, holly and phoenix feather, nice and supple."

Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a steam of red and gold sparks shot from the gold like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light onto the walls. Sirius whooped, and Regulus clapped, Lucius looked bored.

"Hmm… well bravo… how very curious. Yes, yes curious indeed." Ollivander muttered, putting Harry's wand back into its box and wrapping it in brown paper. Harry felt elated inside, I'm not a squib! But the old man was still muttering.

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"

Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Black. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you Mr. Black. Yes… great things…" Harry shivered, that didn't explain anything at all, but he paid for his wand and put it in the self-shrinking bag with all his other school supplies. Just as they were going out the door Mr. Ollivander's voice rang out.

"Oh, and Mr. Black? For future reference, get it right this time, won't you?"

The door shut behind them and Sirius turned to Harry, "Get what right?"

"Dunno," he shrugged, the outside sunlight shone through the cool clouds, dispelling the weird feeling the store had given them.

"Crazy old man."

"Yeah," he agreed, and they began walking once more to go complete their shopping. Harry felt Lucius' eyes on him the whole way.

TBT

The last stop of the day was the bookstore 'Flourish and Blott's', where Sirius and Harry quickly found all the textbooks required, paid for them and pocketed them. Unfortunately they then had to wait around for Lucius to get his fifth-year books. Regulus disappeared into a corner with a bulky looking text, leaving the twins alone, bored, and looking to entertain themselves. (usually not a good combination).

The shop was larger on the inside then it looked from the outside, a two-story building with bookcases covering every wall and stretching all the way up to the ceiling. Piles of schoolbooks were everywhere, and stacks of texts were massed in front of the many isles. Upstairs, and down one of these rows, Harry and Sirius examined different books.

"Bloody hell; look at the size of this one! Arrh – it's –heavy–" Sirius strained, pulling out a book that went up to his waist. "Phew," he set it down next to him, bracing it against his legs.

"Hmm… The Ancient Tome of Nisar…Niessrach…Nyesscharch… some-person-who died-long-ago," Harry read, while wiping off some of the dust with his sleeve. "Extra-enchantments included for free: Unbreakable charm, Laborious charm, and warded against theft, Parch-Beetles, fire damage, and water damage."

"Sounds boring," Sirius said, already losing interest. He went to heft it back onto the shelf, but the tome slipped and thumped to the ground, sliding several feet away.

Now here, the average person might huff a little at the book, pick it up more carefully and put it back properly. Or they might get curious and open the ancient tome to see what long-forgotten wonders lay inside, perhaps getting amazing information that could change their life and increase their knowledge and power tenfold, making them into a super wizard (or witch) more powerful then even Dumbledore!... but this is the Black twins were talking about here, and they did neither of these things.

In actuality both the boys stared at the book for several moments in silence (the calm before the storm). Then Harry edged forward very cautiously, and lightly pushed the book with the tip of his shoe. It sild forward several more feet. Harry turned slowly to meet the mischievous grin of his brother with one of his own. They had found a way to entertain themselves.

TBT

"Ready… set… GO!" Harry yelled from the side. Sirius leapt up from his starting position, sprinting as fast as he could up the isle. After a few second of hard dashing, he took a flying leap through the air accompanied with a war-like roar, to land on The Ancient Tome of Niesshyrai… whoever – and send both him and the large book skidding down between the rows, sailing as far as he could. Literally book-surfing.

"YES! Haha beat that!" Sirius whooped from down the other end. Being bigger gave him enough weight to propel the book further. Harry ran down to join him, both of them panting for breath but with huge grins. It was surprising that no one had came up yet; wondering at the strange noises they were making, but then the shop was so crowded and loud downstairs, Harry supposed no one could hear anything from more then a foot away.

"Too easy!" Harry gloated readying himself with a long run up to the large book. Even if Sirius had the weight to propel forward, Harry had the speed to match it.

"Ready… set…" Sirius started from the side, "GO!"

Harry took off running, moving so fast his feet seemed blurred.

"AAARRRRRHHH!!" he flew gracefully through the air and landed on the tome. The bookcases sped past as he glided along, trying to balance himself right to get the maximum momentum. Adrenaline rushed through his blood, as the air rushed past the wide grin on his face, Harry spread out his arms as if he were flying hands-free.

"Crap, STOP HARRY!" Sirius yelled from behind, but it was far too late for that.

Harry shot to the end of the row, grin slipping as he realised what that meant. He was frozen in position as the book slowed down just enough to teeter on the edge of the staircase, before it fell forward, and Harry was surfing down 'Flourish and Blotts' staircase with the Ancient Tome as his board.

"Bugggerbuggerbuggerbugger–" Harry swore unsteadily as the book bumped down each step, "–buggerbuggerbugger."

Then the situation got even worse as some innocent bystander at the bottom of the stairs turned around with wide eyes, looking up as the one of the terrors of the Black family shot towards him. The bystander's mouth opened (he seemed to be in shock) but he didn't seem to be MOVING!

"GETTOUTTA WAY YEH CRAZY FOOL!" Harry shouted in a last attempt, though all this achieved was gaining the attention of everyone else in the store.

BOOM!

Harry, the Ancient Tome and the innocent bystander all smashed into one of the book displays sending everything crashing to the ground in a flutter of parchment. Eventually even these rustled to the ground, landing randomly around the collapsed display, and the rest of the store.

The very – silent – store.

Except for a pair of familiar elephant footsteps running down the stairs.

"And THAT, ladies and gentleman," Sirius smiled charmingly at the still shocked crowd of customers and staff, "concludes our lesson on how not to ride books down stairs, we appreciate your time and attention, all donations will be sent to the Society of Parch-Beetles, any complaints should be directed at Lucius Malfoy. Thank you!" he grabbed Harry's hand and the innocent bystander's (who happened to be a boy about Harry's size) and the three of them were out the door just as the store owner gave a bellow of rage.

The three boys pounded out into the street, dodging around witches and wizards, startling some into dropping their bags, only thinking of putting as much distance between them and 'Flourish and Blotts'. But now they had past Gringotts Wizarding Bank and would soon near the end of the street.

"Quick in here!" Sirius gasped pulling the other two boys into a crowded pet-shop called 'Magical Menagerie'. There they collapsed behind a cage of tap-dancing rats, gasping for breath.

"–What the – who are – yeh bloody – insane –" the boy panted next to Harry. He had light brown hair that flopped over his face, and Harry thought he looked a little pale, but then he had just had a book-surfing boy come cannon-balling into him.

"Yeah that's what everyone says about our family," Sirius gave his canine grin after getting his breath back.

"What my twin means to say is we're really sorry about that. But don't you know that bookstores are dangerous places for innocent bystanders like you?"

"…huh? Bystand–?"

"Err… nothing, don't worry about it." Harry shrugged it off, before half-standing up to peer over the rat cage. "I think the coast is clear, so no hard feelings, yeah?" he turned back to the boy, who still looked rather shaken.

"…um yeah, I've… err… got to go, bye." The boy hurried away out of the pet shop.

Sirius frowned after him, "Strange boy," he said, "but what can you d… YOWL!" Sirius howled in pain and ripped his hand away from the cage, where a rat had bitten his finger.

Harry sniggered, "Nice one Siri."

Sirius glared at him and sucked his finger, pitifully mumbling about how he had always hated rats. Sirius's yell had woken up all the other animals and now the store was filled with screeches, hisses, croaks, squeaks, and caws. The pet shop was crowded with cages and animals of all sorts, intriguing customers to look into all of them. Neither Harry nor Sirius had been to 'Magical Menagerie' before so of course they took a look around.

"It's such a shame," Sirius mock-sighed from where he was looking at a bloated toad, "We almost made it through the whole day without any trouble,"

"Yeah that makes two shops we're banned from now," Harry laughed, tapping the glass of a cage that held two large orange shelled snails, "Oh well; I hope Lucy has fun with the store owner."

Sirius snorted, moving on to a coop of cawing ravens, "I bet Reg will pretend he's not related to us again," he chuckled and then examined a couple of Fire-crabs. Fire-crabs were more like tortoises then crabs, their shells were covered in glittery gems making them a pretty prize. Unfortunately they had the down-side of shooting fire out of their… nether-regions…

Harry laughed again from the other side of the room, "That's you, always thinking with your stomach."

Sirius cocked his head to the side, "What? I didn't say anything,"

Harry turned to give him a confused look, "You didn't? Oh, must be hearing things,"

"I think it's you who's thinking with his stomach."

"But I could've sworn you said–" Harry broke off with a gasp.

"What is it?"

"Siri come here," Harry breathed.

"What?" Sirius manoeuvred his way through the crammed pet shop, to Harry's side. His twin was kneeling in front of a cage, looking in with an awestruck expression.

Curious, Sirius peered through the bars, and he was met with gleaming purple eyes. A small black kitten sat daintily on the other side, seeming like an ordinary cat until you looked into its eyes.

"It's a cat with weird eyes, so what?"

"So I want him," Harry clarified, poking his finger through the bars at the kitten.

"Her," a voice said from behind, startling them both. They turned around to see a messy woman wearing thick rimed glasses.

"Sorry?"

"It's a girl. The cat, that is," the woman bustled past, cooing at a three-headed lizard that hung over her shoulders. The lizard gave a triple hiss, its yellow eyes blinking sideways. "Are you interested in her?"

"Yes please, how much?"

Sirius gaped at his twin, "Whoa, whoa, wait a second, please excuse us," he told the woman, who was now tickling one of the lizard's chins. He pulled Harry to one side, who looked disgruntled at being handled.

"What do you think your doing?" Sirius demanded.

"Getting a pet, what does it look like?" Harry answered defiantly.

"Like you've gone mental, you can't get a cat!"

"Yes I can, it says on the list you can 'bring an owl, cat or toad,' and I want a cat,"

Sirius – now getting frustrated, said "That's not what I mean and you know it. Use your common scene!"

"…do you mean common sense?"

"Whatever! Mum will probably kill it as soon as she sees it,"

"So I won't let her see it."

The two twins glared stubbornly at each other both refusing to back down. Finally Sirius tried a different tack.

"How are you going to hide a cat from everyone else?"

Harry shrugged, "I'll think of a way,"

Sirius scowled, "Why do you even want a cat anyway? They're so… furry…" he finished pulling a face.

"Because, just look at her," Harry turned back to the kitten with such a bedazzled look, Sirius could almost see the stars shining in his eyes, "She's cute and fuzzy and those eyes are amazing and she's just begging me to buy her and I've always wanted a pet and–"

Sirius gave up, "Oh great, my twin's a cat person," he groaned, putting his hands over his face.

Harry grinned, sensing victory, "And I suppose you're a dog person?"

"Yes! Dogs are much better then cats any day!"

"But cats are smarter,"

"Dogs are stronger, better fighters,"

"Cats are more agile and can climb,"

"Well dogs can play games; cats just sleep all day,"

"Dogs are harder to hide then cats, and also dogs aren't allowed at Hogwarts,"

"Well cats are… okay fine get the bloody cat," Sirius grumbled.

"Yes!" Harry cheered, and turned to the shop lady who had been watching the exchange looking bemused, "I'll take her."

The woman smiled, placing aside the three-headed lizard, "I'll just get her ready for you, would you like to look at our cat merchandise?" She pointed to a stack of cat treats, food, toys, bedding and the like.

"Okay," Harry chirped, a huge smile threatening to spilt his face. Using his parent's money he bought all the pet necessities plus some cat toys; a cat Bouncy Boomerang Ball the size of a Snitch, and several mice that would come to temporary life when you pulled their tails.

"You be careful with those," the pet shop lady said, peering through her thick rimmed glasses at the toys, "you might get into trouble if you're hard on them. Is this everything?" She placed a carrier cage one the counter with the small black kitten looking wide-eyed inside. The three headed lizard turned its six yellow eyes on it, and hissed menacingly, the cute kitten hissed back, completely failing to look scary.

"Yes thanks." Harry paid eight Galleons for everything and put it all in the shrinking bag, except for the cat carrier of course.

The woman picked up the lizard from the counter and moved off into the back, cooing to it once more. The two boys moved to the front of the shop, but paused before going outside.

"So," Sirius closed his eyes and leaned against the doorway, preventing Harry from exiting, "What are you gonna do with it now?"

Harry scowled, "Sapphire will be safe with me."

"Sapphire?" Sirius opened his eyes.

"Yes," Harry smiled down besotted at the kitten through the cage, "because of her eyes, they're like purple sapphires."

"Whatever. You better do something with that thing."

Harry didn't answer, he just bent down and opened the carrier door, pulling Sapphire out into his arms and cuddling her.

"Can you put the carrier in the shrinking bag, Siri?" Harry asked, awkwardly handing him it. Sirius rolled his eyes and did as he was asked, looking up in time to see Harry fastening his cloak, one arm held against his chest, and the kitten nowhere in sight. Sirius' jaw dropped.

"You didn't!" he accused.

"I did." Harry answered

"That's my cloak!"

"Its overlarge nature on me is perfect for hiding a small kitten like Sapphire," Harry said calmly.

"That's beside the point; they'll be fur all over it!"

"Well it isn't my fault you ripped mine!" he said, not quite so calmly.

Sirius opened his mouth angrily, couldn't think of anything to say, and shut it sulkily. Harry pushed past him and exited back out onto the street.

TBT

Sirius soon got over losing to his twin, besides the prospect of pulling the wool over their parents' eyes was just the type of thing he enjoyed. So the twins found themselves skulking through Diagon Alley trying to avoid the attention of anyone searching for them, and crossed to the other side of the street when they went past 'Flourish and Blotts.' The crowds had gone down now that it was later in the day, only half as many shoppers were about the stores. A thin man with a pet carrier like Harry's was looking at quills, and a large group of wizards and witches were standing by the Quidditch store, examining a broom one of them had just bought.

Sirius was sorting through the Shrinking Bag, looking at everything they had gotten.

"Well, today wasn't so bad. I think we've been very well behaved considering…"

"Past experiences?" Harry put in, amused.

Sirius nodded, sidestepping a puddle without looking, "Exactly. At least we didn't blow anything up, and I bet everyone's forgotten about the bookstore by now."

"And you say I'm optimistic."

Sirius ignored him, "I think we have everything," he took out one of Sapphire's toy mice, "hey, I wonder why that lady warned us about these." He turned the unanimated mouse over, scrutinising it as if the answer would jump out at him.

Harry shrugged uncomfortably, shifting his arm and the kitten under his outer-cloak, "Dunno,"

"Hmm." Sirius, unable to help himself, yanked hard on the mouse's tail.

SQUEAK!!

The mouse let out an ear-splitting noise and Sirius dropped it in surprise, the mouse was now no different from a live one and it landed splayed-legged on the flagstones, scampering away before either of the twins could stop it.

"EEEK! MOUSE! MOUSE!" A blonde witch – with way too much make-up on – screeched, she scrambled away from the offending creature, so desperate that she climbed into the arms of the wizard next to her. The man gave a shout of surprise and stumbled into the group of people in front of the Quidditch store. "KILL IT! KILL IT!" the blonde lady shrieked frantically. A fat, green-robed man grabbed a broom and started hitting at the mouse, trying to squash it, looking just as panicked as the woman.

"MY NIMBUS!" the broom owner yelled furiously, tackling the fat man in an effort to save his new broom. The blonde lady was still shrieking her head off, while the other witches and wizards starting trying to hex the active mouse. The broom owner and the fat man crashed into the thin man holding the pet carrier cage, he dropped the cage and it burst open.

The large group of wizards and witches trying to hex the mouse accidentally hit three of their own members in the confined space, parallelising one in place, knocking another unconscious, and the third was thrown up into the sky in a puff of blue smoke. At the same time the pet from the carrier came flying out, spinning towards 'Scribbulus Ever-Changing Inks', it's shell glittering in the fading sun, throwing colours over the walls of the shops. Then the legs and head of the creature popped out, revealing it to be a Fire-crab. The Fire-crab did what Fire-crabs do best, and let loose a stream of orange flames, setting the front of the stationary store alight.

The man who had been thrown up into the sky by the spell luckily hadn't gone too far, and soon came tumbling back down, still trailing blue smoke. He caught the roof of the Quidditch store, or more precisely the gutter. The gutter, not made for this type of thing, groaned and broke, sending water cascading down on the still shrieking blonde lady, finally shutting her up.

"– MY SHOP!–" someone hysterically screamed. The red faced owner of 'Scribbulus Ever-Changing Inks' had gone completely scarlet all over. He had just nipped down to the 'Leaky Cauldron' for a quick break. Seeing the twins again that morning hadn't done his nerves any good, so as soon as service had cooled down a bit he'd headed off. There, he'd had a drink, relaxed, and calmed down, he had thought it silly of him to let himself get worked up by the twins, and had left the pub feeling happy and rejuvenated. Now, not ten seconds later, he tugged in rage at the orange tuffs of hair poking out from under his tartan cap.

The twins had watched this chaos with open mouths. The toy mouse finally wound down in front on Sirius, and he numbly picked it up, still staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of him. The thin man struggling to get out from under the fat green-robed man, the broom owner sobbing over the damage to his new Nimbus, the rather dazed Fire-Crab slowly spinning on it's jewelled shell, one wizard unconscious, one frozen in place, and another bright blue wizard holding a broken gutter, the blonde lady completely drenched, her make up running down her face, the burning stationary store, the scarlet owner… The mouse gave one last squeak before lying still in his hand.

All heads turned to the boys.

The Black twins blanched in the silence.

"Bugger," Harry said, summing up the situation nicely.

Sirius gulped, "Run?" he suggested.

"Run." Harry agreed, and they sped off towards the 'Leaky Cauldron' so fast, there was almost an after-image of them.

Steam seemed to come from the red-faced shop owner's ears.

"ARRRGHH YOU LITTLE BRATS!" he raged, taking off his cap and stamping on it in fury, "YOU HORRIBLE MENACES! YOU EVIL CHOAS SPAWN!" he shook his fist after them, the wizards and witches around him joining in, "YOU – YOU – YOU BLACK TWINS!"

TBT

A/N

He-he Sirius spoke too soon : D.

Next chapter, they finally go to Hogwarts!

XX – Mel