(A/N) Hey guys. Sorry for this extremely long period of unproductive-ness. I got the computer taken away for a loooooooooong time. But I'm back now! =) The next parts are gonna be hard for me to write, because they aren't the parts that I'd already made up in my head. I'm gonna do the best I can to update frequently, though. Thanks to all of you who review!

"Well, now what?" I asked Dad, frowning. "If she can't go home…"

"…Then she'll have to stay with us," he finished for me, running his fingers through his hair in stress. "C'mon, kids. Let's go."

We walked back home. It was hot out, and very humid. The neighborhood seemed deserted, as everyone wanted to stay inside. Sam seemed very uncomfortable, and she became tenser and tenser as we got closer and closer to the house. We went up the walk to the door. Dad opened it and stepped back, holding it open for us. Sam backed up a little, unsure about going in.

"Go on in, Sam," he encouraged. "We don't bite."

She smiled shyly and slowly crossed the threshold into the house. I followed her in, and Dad shut the door behind us. Sam stood awkwardly in the doorway, so I grabbed her arm and dragged her into the living room, where Al was watching some science show. He looked up at the sound of our entrance. Only noticing me, he dove for the remote.

"Come off it, Al," I said impatiently. "I'm not here to change the channel."

"Who's that?" he asked curiously, noticing that there was a person next to me for the first time.

"Very observant today, aren't we, Al?" I asked sarcastically. He glared. "Al, this is Sam, the Muggleborn Dad was talking about last night," I told him. "Sam, this is my little brother, Albus."

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hiiii…" he said, sounding confused. 'Why is she here?"

"Long story," I told him, flopping down next to him on the couch and patting the cushion next to me. "C'mon and sit down, Sam."

She looked at me for a moment before walking over and sitting tentatively down next to me, looking positively petrified.

"Don't worry," I told her with a teasing smile, "I won't let you contract Albus's nerd disease!"

"I'm not a nerd!" Al said, loud and angry.

"Boys…" Mum's voice came warningly from the kitchen.

"She's no fun," I muttered under my breath, and Sam giggled.

Dad and Lily both came into the living room. Lily jumped up onto my lap. Being only eight, she was very… clingy. But I didn't mind.

"I talked to your Mum," Dad told us, sitting down on yet another of the many couches in our living room. "And we decided that after lunch we're going to Diagon Alley to get your school things."

"Yes!" I shouted, and everyone on my couch jumped. "Dad, can we go to Uncle Georges' shop too? Please?"

"I suppose we could pay George a visit, yes," Dad said with a smile.

"Yay!" Lily cried happily. Sam looked confused.

"What's Diagon Alley?" she asked.

"It's this huge street in London, filled with nothing but wizarding shops," I explained. "Everyone buys their school stuff there. My uncle owns a shop in Diagon Alley."

"I haven't got any money…" Sam said awkwardly.

"We'll pay for everything, of course," Dad told her with a small smile.

"I can't let you!" she said. "I don't want to be a bother."

"It's no bother," Mum told her, showing up in the doorway with flour on her apron again.

"I can't let you spend your money on me like that."

"Well, "I said, "too bad. They're going to anyway."

"In any case," Mum said, "it's time for lunch."

"Yes!" I said again. "Lunch!"

I showed Sam the way into the dining room. We sat down at the table, lunch already being on top of it. Mum had made a really simple lunch of grilled cheese and some pineapples. I wondered why there was flour on her apron until she brought out dessert. She and Lily's surprise for Dad turned out to be treacle tart, Dad's favorite dessert. His face lit up, and he ate his slice eagerly, grinning.

"Thanks, Ginny dear," he said to Mum.

"It was Lily's idea to make it," she told him, grinning at her youngest daughter. "She did most of it by herself, too."

"Well thank you, sweetheart!" Dad said, ruffling Lily's hair.

"It's really good," Sam said quietly. "What is it?"

"Thank you!" Lily said excitedly. "It's treacle tart, Daddy's favorite!"

"Well, it's wonderful," she said kindly.

We ate the rest of the tart in silence, enjoying every mouthful. When we'd all finished, the three of us Potter children helped each other with the dishes. Then we proceeded to get ready to go, Lily brushing her hair and Al and I sitting through yet another of Mum's fruitless attempts at taming our hair. She spent about five minutes attacking our heads with combs and water bottles before finally giving us up as a bad job. We all got ourselves completely ready to go, and then Dad grabbed the black ceramic container holding the Floo powder off the mantle. He opened the lid, took a pinch of the green powder, and threw it into the fire.

"Alright, kids," Dad said calmly as the flames turned a brilliant emerald. Sam jumped. "We're Flooing straight into George's shop."

"Flooing?" said Sam nervously. She was playing with a bit of the brown hair that had escaped her ponytail.

"Yes," said Dad. "Flooing."

"That's a weird word," I announced.

They stared at me.

"Well it is!" I said indignantly. "I mean, listen: Flooing. Flooing. Flooing, flooing, flooing." I said the word with different inflections.

Al looked intrigued. "It is a rather strange word…" he mused.

"Alright," Dad said, clapping his hands, "let's get back to the point, shall we?"

"Fine," I muttered with mock sadness.

"So,' he said, looking back at Sam, "to Floo. We step into the fire, say where we want to go, and we show up there. You've got to watch for the right fireplace. You must also speak very clearly, or you might not end up where you want to." Dad and Mum smiled at each other in some sort of shared memory. "I once mispronounced 'Diagon Alley,' and I ended up in Knockturn Alley. Those two are very close together, connected even," he told her with the smile lingering on his lips. "But Knockturn Alley is a dark place, and you wouldn't want to end up there.

"Okay," muttered Sam, sounding scared and very confused.

"Let James and I go first, Sam," mum offered, "so you can see how it's done."

Sam nodded in agreement, so Mum stepped into the still-green fire, shouted: "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!" and disappeared. Sam stared at the fireplace in shock.

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Sam asked, looking back at Dad.

"It's the name of George's shop," he explained.

"Oh."

It was my turn. I climbed into the fireplace, feeling the cool, tickling sensation on my skin. I pulled off my glasses, put them in my pocket, threw a cocky grin at Albus, and shouted "Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes!" As soon as the words had escaped my lips, I began to spin. I paid very close attention to the fireplaces rushing past my eyes, watching warily until I saw the flash of red that I knew to be Mum's hair. I threw out my hands as I fell out of the fire and onto the floor of Uncle George's storeroom. Mum grabbed my hand and helped me back up to my feet. I brushed the ash off my jeans and put my glasses back on as I looked around.

The storeroom was filled with brightly coloured boxes of all shapes and sizes. Some were for invisibility cloaks (though none of them were nearly as good as Dad's, seeing as that one had come from 'Death himself,') while others were filled with love potions, Peruvian Darkness Powder, and even some gags of Uncle George's and Uncle Fred's invention.

I had never met my Uncle Fred. He had been Uncle George's twin brother, and he had been killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, along with some fifty other people. I had heard a lot about him, though. The Weasley family might miss their son, but they found it easier to cope with the loss if they talked about him and remembered him. Very few stories were told that didn't make us all laugh; my Uncles had been big pranksters.

I was about to go over to one of the boxes, wanting to look through it, when I heard a short, startled scream from the fireplace. I looked around just in time to see Sam fall face first onto the cold cement floor. I hastened over to help her to her feet. She was blushing madly.

"Don't worry about it," I told her with a smile. "The first time Dad flooed, not only did he end up in the wrong place, but he fell on his face and broke his glasses." I smiled at the memory of his story.

"And that, my friend," came a voice from the fireplace, "I why I do not Floo with my glasses on."

We both turned to see Dad standing up and pulling his glasses out of his pocket and putting them back on his face. "Nor do I let my children Floo with them on."

Sam giggled.

It took another few minutes for Albus and Lily to get there too, and then the six of us followed Dad out of the storeroom and into the shop itself. It was crowded as usual. Uncle George had made the name 'Weasley' a household name. Anyone who came into the shop could see why. It was full of all sorts of interesting things. There were diversionary tactics, love potions, pranks, and even some Muggle card tricks. The shop was never quiet, and the only time I had seen it without at least one customer was when it was closed. It may just as well have been the most popular shop in all of Diagon Alley.

"George!" Dad called over the crowd.

"Harry!" a stocky man with flaming red hair shouted back, opening his arms in welcome. "It's so good to see you!" Uncle George wormed his way through the crowd and grabbed my dad's hand, shaking it. "It's been much too long. Where have you all been?"

"Sorry about that, George," Dad said, smiling. "I've been so busy with work and everything."

"Oh, no, Harry!" George said, flinging his arm around Dad's neck. "It's understandable. We've been busy ourselves, or Angelina and I would have brought the kids over ourselves."

He stopped talking at this point; Lily had thrown her arms around his middle and was squeezing him as hard as she could.

"Ginny!" he said after Lily had let go of him. He hugged his little sister tightly.

"It's so good to see you, George!" Mum said. "How are the kids?"

"Hold that thought, little sister," Uncle George said. "When a customer calls, I must answer."

He walked over to the customer who had been trying to get his attention. It was a man with thinning brown hair. He was holding up an empty canister, the contents of which seemed to be all over his clothing. Uncle George helped him clean off, apologizing, and gave him a coupon for a free product. He came back over to us with a harassed look on his face.

"Honestly," he said to Dad, "how am I supposed to keep some bloke's kid from opening a can of dried trick paints all over him?"

"I haven't the slightest," Dad answered.

"Goodness me!" Uncle George said suddenly. "I've forgotten my nephews!" he gasped. "It's good to see you boys."

"Good to see you too, Uncle George," Al said.

"Have you invented anything new, Uncle George?" I asked excitedly.

"I'm working on something right now," he told me with a smile. "No, I'm not going to tell you what it is," he said, interpreting my face correctly. "I want it to be a surprise. Now, who's this girl here? Don't tell me I have a niece I never knew about!"

I laughed. "No! This is Sam, our neighbor. She's shopping with us today."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Sam," Uncle George said. "I'm George Weasley. This is my joke shop."

"Dad," I said, running out of patience. "Can we get something? Please?"

"Alright, alright!" Dad said. He handed me three galleons. "That's all you get, James. I mean it." He turned to look at Uncle George. "If we go bankrupt, I'm blaming you."

I grabbed Sam's arm and dragged her along with me. I showed her all around the shop, and then tried to decide on what to buy. We looked at a lot of stuff before I finally decided on a pack of Uncle George's sweets that make you sick. Like the Nosebleed Nougat. You eat one end, and your nose starts gushing blood. You get out of class and are on your way to the Hospital Wing. Once out of earshot of the teacher, you eat the other end, the nosebleed stops, and you are free to do whatever you want until the next lesson. I snuck up to the counter, making sure Mum and Dad weren't paying attention. I made my purchase and then Sam and I returned to the family. It had been nearly an hour since we had arrived.

"Here they are!" Mum said.

"Took them long enough," Al said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, at least I'll support my own Uncle's shop!" I said hotly.

"Boys!" Dad said. "Please! Could you stop fighting for even one minute?"

"Sorry, Dad," we said in unison as Uncle George laughed.

"Al's right, though," Dad said. "We really do need to be going. We'll see you soon, George."

We all said our goodbyes to Uncle George, then we left the shop and went to get our school things. We got school robes, books, a potions kit, and all of the other things a new Hogwarts student would need.

"Well, I think that's everything," Dad said with a grin when we were finished shopping.

"Dad!" I sighed indulgently. "We still need our wands!"

"Wands?" Dad asked, feigning confusion. "C'mon, James, wands? What do you think we are, wizards?"

We all laughed as Dad led the way to the wand shop. Above the door were these words, printed above the door in ancient, golden, peeling letters: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

"Wow…" Al muttered. "That shop's been open for a looooong time."

"It sure has," Mum agreed.

We went inside. It was dusty in the shop, completely empty except for a few spindly chairs. Those, and a large amount of shelves, each holding at least a thousand long, thin boxes. Attached to one of these was a small, dusty mirror, which reflected the dingy shop back at us. We sat down in the chairs to wait for the owner.

"Tricky to please, aren't you Miss?" Ollivander asked excitedly as yet another wand failed to be a match. He took the yew wand from her (Dad looked strangely relieved) and handed her what had to be the thirtieth wand. "Try this one, then. 11 ½ inches. Dogwood. Core of phoenix feather."

Sam took the wand, looking hopeless. After all, so many wands had failed to be a match for her. But when her long, thin fingers closed around the wand, her face lit up. She waved the wand, and a jet of golden sparks flew out.

"Yes…" Ollivander said. He gave Sam the wand box and turned to Dad. "That would be-"

"Seven galleons, right?" Dad finished for him, fishing fourteen golden coins out of his pocket.

"You have a good memory, Mr. Potter," Ollivander said, accepting the coins.

"M-Mr. Potter?" Sam asked timidly.

"Yes, Sam?" Dad asked, after throwing a "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander!" over his shoulder.

"What- what are galleons?" she asked, looking as though she thought she was stupid.

"Wizarding money," he explained, grabbing quickly onto Al's arm as he tripped over his own feet. "They have the highest value, and they're gold. We have three different coins: Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. There are twenty-nine bronze Knuts to a Sickle and seventeen silver Sickles to a Knut. You'll get the hang of them, don't worry," said Dad, as Sam looked extremely confused, "I got the hang of them quick enough."

"Okay," she said, still sounding unsure.

"Harry, why don't we stop at Florean's and buy the kids some ice cream?"

"I've never heard a more splendid idea!" Dad said brightly. We led Sam to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Shoppe, currently owned and operated by Florean's daughter, as Florean had died while my dad was still in school. She had left the shop's name be, in honour of her father.

We each ordered our ice creams in turn. I ordered a chocolate peanut butter swirl, while Sam ordered some sort of raspberry vanilla stuff that looked very girly. We sat next to each other at the umbrella-covered tables, eating our ice creams in companionable silence.

"Oi, Dad," I said suddenly, just remembering. "Can I get an owl, now that I'm starting school?"

He grinned at my sudden excitement. "I don't see why not, James."

"An owl?" Sam asked curiously. "Why would you want an owl as a pet?"

"They carry the mail," Albus said, in his usual way that made anyone who asked a question sound stupid and made him sound like Einstein. (Don't ask me who Einstein is, I don't know. But Al goes on about him all the time, like he's some sort of god, so he must be a genius.) "Nearly everyone in our world has an owl."

"Nice one, Al," I muttered angrily, as Sam looked embarrassed. "Why'd you tell her something like that?"

We finished our ice creams, me throwing glares at Al every once in a while, and then we headed to Eeylops Owl Emporium. The inside of the shop was full of interesting creatures, but on the down side, it smelled like a mixture of droppings, Owl Treats, and cats. We looked around in interest. There were owls of all colors and breeds, sitting in cages all over the store. On the front counter, there was a cage full of rats, which were showing off by tap dancing, doing back flips, and other impressive moves that made Sam stare at them in awe.

"Go ahead and choose an owl, then, James," Mum said. "I want to get back to George's shop soon." She looked as though she knew something I didn't.

I looked slowly around, taking in all the different options. A large snowy owl was making a racket, as if it wanted out of its cage very badly, but when I approached the cage, it snapped at my fingers and I drew back. Eventually I settled on a handsome tawny owl. Dad paid for him, and the woman behind the counter handed his cage to me. The snowy owl got even louder as we made to leave, hooting angrily and flapping its wings and making the cage shake violently. All at once, the cage fell to the floor with a crash and broke open. The owl flew at us. Thinking it was after me, since it had been so violent earlier, I ducked, but he flew right over my head. Instead, he landed – surprisingly gently – on Sam's shoulder. She smiled in surprise, reaching up to pat the owl's head. It nipped at her finger affectionately, not at all like the vicious way it tried to sever mine.

"Looks like someone's found a friend," Mum said with a smile.

"He's so sweet," Sam muttered, still stroking the owl.

"She!" the shopkeeper corrected.

Sam continued to stroke the owl, smiling sadly. Mum and Dad shared one of those annoying looks that parents are so very good at, then Dad stepped toward the counter.

"We'll take her," he said, handing the gold to the shopkeeper. The woman handed him the owl's cage and, despite Sam's fervent objections, we left the shop with two owls.

We walked back through the crowded streets to Uncle George's shop, so we could use his fireplace to get back home. Mum's rush to get home was soon explained, as someone very familiar was talking with Uncle George in the shop. Someone with neon blue hair.

"Teddy!" I shouted gleefully, running at the eighteen-year-old wizard.

"James!" he said with a smile, pulling me into a quick hug. "It's nice to see you all."

He hugged Al, then Lily, and then Mum and Dad.

"Ted, Ted," I said excitedly, unable to contain myself, "look at my owl!"

"Awesome, James," Ted said with a grin. "And who's this lovely lady? Your girlfriend?"

Sam blushed, but I just grinned. "Shut up, Ted. You know she's not. I've just met her!"

"She's our neighbor, a Muggleborn," Dad explained. "She's going to be staying with us for a while."

"Why?" Teddy asked.

"Her parents are very… Dursleyish" Dad explained. Ted's confused face changed to one of understanding. He reached over and held a hand out to Sam.

"Ted Lupin," he told her when she took it. "Harry's my godfather."

"Oh," Sam muttered. "I'm Sam Barnes."

"Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm just sampling the wares," he told us.

"Ted here's helping us test some of our newer products," Uncle George explained. "Of course," he added quickly as Mum glared, "I test them first, to be sure they're safe. I'd never test them on someone else first."

"You coming round for dinner on Sunday?" Dad asked Ted.

'No, sorry," he answered, frowning. "Grandmum's birthday is Saturday, but I've got another Apparition test, so I'm spending Sunday with her."

"How many Apparition tests have you taken so far, Ted?" Mum asked.

Ted looked sheepish. "This'll be my tenth. I'm horrible at it."

Dad shook his head. "Well, we really must be getting home, Ted," he said. "Sam here is going to be staying with us for a while, so we need to get her set up."

"If you have to," Ted said sadly. We all said goodbye to Ted and Uncle George and went back into the storeroom. I was the last of the kids to go through this time. I smiled at Dad, who smiled back. My glasses were placed in my pocket, and I stepped into the blurry green fire.

(A/N) Thanks for reading, guys! I hope you like it. I'm always grateful for a review, just so I know who's reading my story. It doesn't have to be anything special, you can even just write 'I read it.' I'm always happy to get more, though. =D