How do Harry's boys get around Mom's rule and make a profit out of the bargain? Little sister!
Cookie Monster
"Harry, have you been into the cookies," called Ginny from the kitchen of their home in Godric's Hollow. "They are for the Christmas cookie exchange at my mother's on Christmas Eve."
"No, Dear, I just came in from clearing the walk," replied Harry, removing his coat and gloves as he entered the house.
"I know I made six dozen and was getting ready to decorate them. I had gone into the pantry and came out with the sprinkles and powdered sugar and there are only five and a half dozen on the cooling racks. I will need to bake more if we are enough to exchange with everyone."
Harry perched on a stool near the counter and said, "Do you want me to start icing the cookies and then you can make more and be ready to decorate when I am done?"
"Before you do that, why don't you go upstairs and check on James and Albus? I tucked them in half an hour ago, but could swear I just heard them giggle," Ginny directed. "I know I told them not to touch the cookies."
Ginny stirred up another batch of sugar cookie batter and rolled the cookie dough out on the board. Taking a wreath cutter she cut another dozen wreathes out of the dough, reformed the ball and then she rolled it again. This time she cut trees from the remaining dough. "There," she thought, "that should give us enough," as she put the dozen trees into the oven. "Seven and a half dozen should do it," she told Harry as he came back into the kitchen.
"Twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, forty-eight, sixty and with the twenty-four more in the oven you have seven dozen," Harry counted.
"No," cried Ginny. "Where are they going?"
"I really don't know because the boys were in bed when I went up."
Ginny removed the tray of wreathes from the oven and put them onto the cooling rack with the other cookies. She turned her attention to making the icing, green for the trees and wreathes, yellow for the stars, red for Santa's suit and the berries on the wreathe, white for his beard and the angel, black for the boots and belt, blue for accents and all the colors for the tree decorations, she counted on her fingers.
Harry began to spread the background color on each cookie with a small palate knife. Ginny retrieved the last pan of cookies from the oven and as she set the cookies to cool she asked, "Didn't you say there were seven dozen? I only see six plus nine cookies."
"I know I counted five dozen and you had two in the oven," Harry replied. "If I didn't know better I would say we have a poltergeist."
Ginny then noticed a small hand with red nail polish reach up to the counter and sneak a cookie off and disappear under the table. She placed her index finger on her lips in a motion to say, "Sh-h-h-h-h!" Then she pointed to the table and the little hand stealthily reached over the edge and another cookie disappeared into thin air.
They watched as the puppy scooted out from thin air with a half cookie in its mouth followed quickly by the patter of little feet running after it. Harry stood up and went to block the exit from the kitchen. "O-o-f," came a whispered voice as something ran into his legs." Reaching down he scooped up a wiggling little girl wrapped in the invisibility cloak. When he pulled back the covering, he was astounded to see Lily with a basket full of cookies. "You wouldn't have caught me, Daddy," laughed Lily, "if Puppy hadn't come to help me. Now James won't let me borrow his cloak again without cookie payment."
"His cloak?" asked her father.
"He said it was going to be his someday and that I could rent it for a dozen cookies," Lily replied in a serious tone.
"Well, we can't let that happen. What were you going to do with it after you paid the rent?" Harry asked.
Putting on her most grown up tone, Lily said matter-of-factly, "Wait for Santa. He gets the rest of the cookies. I just wanted to see him."