Author's Note: How about that! An update two nights in a row!

Chapter Eighteen

Tom Riddle was smirking.

He stepped towards her.

He opened his mouth and ink began to pour out.

Ginny jerked awake.

She took a few deep breaths before swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. A few minutes later, she was sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a forest.

A mug of tea was abruptly pressed into her hands.

Ginny smiled and whispered, "Thanks."

"Anytime, Juniper," Sirius replied, "A bad one tonight, eh?"

"Yeah," Ginny shuddered, "It was…he…"

She broke off and muttered, "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Fair enough," Sirius replied.

Instead, Sirius did the talking. He told her about how the Marauders had instigated an enormous food fight that had involved every student in Hogwarts.

"The Charms classroom smelled like rotten eggs for three years," Sirius finished.

Ginny smiled before yawning.

It was well past four in the morning.

She retreated back to her bedroom and passed out. By the time she woke up, showered, dressed, and went downstairs, it was well into the afternoon.

Fred and George caught her in the corridor.

"Hey, Gin!"

"Mum's heading to Diagon Alley."

"So, if you want anything—"

"—you should catch her."

Ginny hurried down to the foyer and just managed to catch her mother.

"Mum, wait!" Ginny breathlessly said, "Can you buy me some new clothes?"

Mrs. Weasley gave a start and repeated, "Clothes?"

Ginny immediately felt her stomach twist.

"Not…not much," Ginny earnestly said, "Just some new t-shirts and…and maybe a new pair of trousers? And maybe…maybe a new set of robes? Well, not new of course…you can get them at that secondhand shop…I don't mind…I just…"

"What's wrong with the clothes you have now?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"My pants are so tight that they're chafing," Ginny explained, "And my shirts have become more like crop-tops!"

She grinned but Mrs. Weasley didn't return the smile.

Ginny's smile faded and she mumbled, "And my robes are all up to my knees."

"Not a problem—"

Ginny brightened.

"—I'll just use some extending charms on them when I return," Mrs. Weasley finished.

And just like that, Ginny's heart sank again.

"They can't take another expansion charm," Ginny tried to explain, "They're already fraying as it is. They'll rip! And so will my shirts and trousers!"

"Then we'll patch up the holes!"

"But—"

"That's enough, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "You're asking for too much."

Ginny bit her lip but remained silent.

"She's asking for clothes."

The two turned.

Sirius was leaning against the wall, his arms folded.

Ginny immediately smiled and Mrs. Weasley immediately scowled.

"That doesn't seem like too much to me," Sirius continued, "In fact, it seems pretty damn reasonable."

"With all due respect, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley bit, "You have no idea what our financial situation is at the moment so if you could please—"

"My offer still stands," Sirius quietly interjected.

Mrs. Weasley looked affronted, as if Sirius had slapped her.

"No," Mrs. Weasley snapped, "We do not take charity!"

"It's not charity!" Sirius argued, straightening up, "I'm more than willing to—"

"No!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, "And that's the last I want to hear of it. Ginny, I'll mend your clothes when I get back!"

She turned and Ginny cried, "Fine! Just don't come crying to me when you get a note from Hogwarts because everyone can see my arse through the holes in my trousers!"

Sirius threw his head back and cracked up.

Mrs. Weasley indignantly huffed and slammed the door behind her.

Walburga's curtains fell and the portrait began to shriek.

Sirius quickly fixed them.

Meanwhile, Ginny had started back upstairs. Her face was prickling.

"Juniper," Sirius called.

Ginny ignored him.

"Ginny!"

"Forget it," Ginny sighed, "She's right."

"No, she—"

"She is," Ginny insisted, whirling around, "It's selfish to ask her to spend money on me."

Sirius looked pained.

She sighed and added, "Though, I do wish that they had spent some of their Daily Prophet winnings on new clothes for us."

"Oh, yeah!" Sirius exclaimed, "I remember seeing an article about that! In fact, that photo was how I recognized Wormtail! Hang…hang on…you lot were in Egypt weren't you?"

Ginny nodded.

"Why?" Sirius bewilderedly asked.

Ginny shrugged and said, "Mum and Dad took us there to visit Bill. Like I said, I wish that they had set some money aside so that we could have new clothes. Is…is that selfish?"

"No, it's not selfish!" Sirius yelped, "It's downright sensible!"

Ginny wasn't sure.

She was still pondering the question an hour later. She wandered aimlessly around the corridors of the gloomy house.

"Hey, Juniper."

Ginny turned and gave a start.

A tall, lanky, man was standing behind her. His golden hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He gave her a crooked smile and winked.

"S…Sirius?" Ginny whispered.

"Not bad, eh?" Sirius cheerfully said, "Moody gave everyone in the Order a huge stash of Polyjuice Potion and some spare hairs in case we had to go on a mission incognito."

"Brilliant," Ginny cried, "Are you off to a mission now?"

"Something like that," Sirius replied, "Fancy a shopping spree?"

"What?" Ginny gasped.

"I need to get out of the house," Sirius explained, "You need some new clothes. So…"

"I…I can't!" Ginny spluttered, "I don't have any money."

"That's why I'm buying," Sirius remarked, "I rarely say this but being a Black does have some advantages – especially when you're the last of them."

"Sirius, I can't!" Ginny pressed, "I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Then, don't ask," Sirius gently said, "But, I'm doing it anyway."

He held out his arm and Ginny reluctantly took it.

She felt the horrid sensation of Side-Apparation.

"OOF!"

She landed on an unforgiving cobblestone road. Ginny straightened up and saw that they were standing next to Gringotts.

She nervously followed Sirius through the double-doors.

Sirius turned to the nearest goblin and formally said, "Greetings. I would like a private room with an accountant."

"Certainly."

They were led into a small room, where they patiently waited at a table. Ginny looked around as she realized that the marble walls were trimmed with gold-leaf.

A goblin entered and carefully surveyed the duo.

At long last, he said, "I am Gnok."

Then, Sirius did something quite remarkable. He leapt to his feet, put one hand on his chest, and stiffly put the other one behind his back.

He then dipped into a low bow and formally said, "Greetings, Gnok. May your wealth be bountiful for years to come."

The goblin looked surprised before bowing back.

Sirius straightened and turned to Ginny.

She quickly blinked before jumping up and repeating what Sirius had done.

Sirius gave her a small nod of approval.

The goblin did as well.

Ginny swelled with pride.

"Welcome to Gringotts, Mister Black," Gnok formally said.

Ginny gasped and whispered, "He…he knows…"

"Of course he does," Sirius calmly said, "Goblins' intellect are vastly superior to humans; he can see right through the disguise."

Gnok seemed pleased by Sirius' statement.

"Isn't that bad?" Ginny nervously whispered.

"Nah," Sirius replied, "Goblins don't take sides in human matters. As far as he's concerned, I'm just another paying customer. Is that correct?"

He turned to Gnok who nodded and said, "Keyword being paying."

"I need you to personally retrieve one thousand galleons from my vault," Sirius quietly said, "I would retrieve it myself but that waterfall was a bit tricky last time."

Ginny felt faint.

One thousand galleons!?

"You may keep a 20% tip," Sirius added.

The goblin's face broke out into a smirk and he said, "Certainly, Mister Black."

Sirius handed him his key and a lightweight, expanding, wallet.

The goblin quickly walked away.

"Twelve…twelve hundred galleons?" Ginny gasped, "Blimey, Sirius…"

She ran a hand over her face and mumbled, "That's about…oh…twelve hundred times the amount that we have in our vault…and you're practically throwing it away!"

"I'm not throwing it away," Sirius firmly said, "I'm spending it on a worthy cause."

Gnok returned with his wallet and key. Sirius pocketed both, formally thanked the goblin, and whisked Ginny away. Ginny was rather grateful – there was something about the goblin's sinister smile that caused her skin to crawl.

Sirius saw her shiver and said, "They're not all bad, really. A few of them are rather nasty but most of them are alright. They just have an…err…different outlook on life."

Once they were back outside, Ginny nervously said, "Sirius, if my mum catches us…"

After all, she still looked the same.

"Oh, we're not staying here," Sirius quickly said.

He held out his arm and Ginny quizzically took it.

This time, the feeling wasn't quite as bad.

It also helped that they landed on grass.

Ginny stood up and curiously looked around.

They were standing in a beautiful courtyard. A fountain was nearby and several children were tossing coins into the water. A few elderly wizards and witches were sitting on the benches.

Ginny glanced at the arches and her eyebrows shot to her hairline.

Each arch had a different sign over it. People were walking beneath the arches and completely disappearing! Likewise, people were abruptly appearing in the archway and walking back through the courtyard.

"Welcome to La Cour," Sirius cheerfully said, "France's magical shopping area."

Ginny gave him a quizzical look and he added, "What? Did you think that everyone in the world went to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade?"

She flushed and asked, "What are the arches?"

"Most of them are stores," Sirius explained, "A few are restaurants. That one right there leads back to a small café in Paris. Right now, I think we'll try…this one."

Ginny followed Sirius over to an archway.

He stepped through and she apprehensively stepped after him.

She blinked and realized that they were standing inside a large shop.

Clothes were neatly stacked to reach the high ceiling.

They weren't robes.

And yet, they didn't look like Muggles clothes either.

At least, not the Muggle clothes that Ginny usually wore.

Sirius stopped a worker and smoothly said, "Bonjour, Madame. Cette femme a besoin d'une nouvelle garde-robe."

"Oui, Monsieur!"

The kind woman whisked Ginny over to a stool.

She waved her wand and a tape measurer flew around Ginny.

As it was measuring her, Ginny turned to Sirius and asked, "You speak French?"

"Sure," Sirius said with a shrug, "Reg and I both learned when we were tots."

Another wave of the woman's wand caused a dozen blouses to fly over.

The woman said something and Sirius translated, "Which ones do you like?"

"I…well…I…" Ginny stammered, "They're all lovely!"

Sirius grinned and said, "Nous prendrons tous!"

The woman looked delighted.

"What did you say?" Ginny demanded.

"I told her that we'll take them all," Sirius cheerfully said.

"PADFOOT!"

"JUNIPER!"

Ginny glared at him and Sirius smirked.

"These are twenty galleons each!" Ginny cried, "Twenty galleons! That's…that's more than all of the clothes in my entire closet!"

"Listen to me," Sirius quietly said, "Either way, I'm buying you these clothes. Now, we can do it the boring way, with you constantly yelling at me. Or, we can have fun. Which is it?"

Ginny stared at him before smirking.

And so, she spent the next few hours happily trying on clothes.

She tried on every single one of the blouses and found that they fit perfectly! No longer would she have to wear any of her mother's baggy hand-me-downs. She also bought several pairs of new, crisp, trousers. She even bought a pair of jeans! She then bought two blazers, a few sweaters, a few cardigans, a peacoat, a waistcoat, and a corset.

In the next shop, she bought a beautiful Victorian dress and a little black dress that she knew would make her mother scream. Sirius cracked up at the very thought

In the third shop, Ginny purchased three new sets of school robes and a pair of beautiful dress robes.

She and Sirius grabbed two hamburgers from one of the restaurants before continuing on.

In the fourth shop, Ginny purchased new undergarments (Sirius modestly waited outside), three new sets of pyjamas, and a dressing gown.

In the fifth shop, she purchased a pair of sneakers, a pair of boots, and a pair of beautiful dress shoes with high heels.

In the sixth shop, she bought a few t-shirts, including a Weird Sisters shirt and a Holyhead Harpies shirt.

She was beyond ecstatic!

"A thought occurs to me," Sirius finally said, "How are your school supplies?"

Ginny flushed and mumbled, "They're…erm…"

Sirius gave her a kind smile and led her to another archway.

"Padfoot, no!" Ginny quickly said, "You've done too much!"

But she knew that it was no use arguing.

And so, she beamed as she bought a new set of textbooks – all first edition and leather-bound. She also bought a new cauldron, a new set of quills, some new parchment, a new set of scales, and a new telescope.

By the time they stopped at a small ice-cream parlor, Ginny's face hurt from laughing and smiling so much. She couldn't find the words to thank Sirius but he understood.

"Remember this happy feeling, Ginny," Sirius gently said.

"Why?" Ginny asked, "For when I'm fighting Dementors?"

"Or other demons."

Ginny beamed.

"The potion's starting to fade," Sirius added, "Ready to go?"

She nodded and took his arm.

The two spun around and around before landing back in 12 Grimmauld Place.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY!"

Ginny flinched.

A group of people were waiting for them. Her mother was there, of course, as was her father. Remus and Moody were also there. Surprisingly, Dumbledore was there as well.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "WHO IS THAT MAN?"

Mr. Weasley grabbed Walburga's curtains to prematurely prevent them from dropping.

"Mum, relax!" Ginny cried, "It's just Sirius!"

Sure enough, the potion finally gave way and Sirius' features morphed into his own.

"We were shopping," Ginny explained.

"SHOPPING?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?"

"I mean that we were 'shopping'," Ginny retorted, "Sirius took me to a wonderful place in France: La Cour."

Moody gazed at Sirius and growled, "Are you telling me that you used a bit of your Polyjuice Potion stash to take a teenager to go shopping?"

"Sorry," Sirius sarcastically replied, "I forgot that I'm going to need it for the vast amount of missions that I'm always on."

Moody stared at him for several tense seconds.

To Ginny's relief, the Auror finally snorted.

Her mother, on the other hand, was not amused.

"I can't…I can't believe this!" Mrs. Weasley cried, "You kidnapped my daughter!"

"He didn't kidnap me," Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes, "He offered to take me and I accepted. And I'm glad that I did! It was a lot of fun!"

"Well," Dumbledore quietly spoke up, "Sirius, I'm glad that you risked your freedom, life, and soul to have a bit of fun."

"So am I," Sirius brightly said, "I think that it was a good decision, really."

He and Ginny shared a smirk.

Ginny's smirk quickly faded, however, when she saw just how upset her mother was.

Mrs. Weasley was surveying the amount of bags that Sirius and Ginny were holding.

"Just…just how many clothes did you buy!?" Mrs. Weasley gasped, "And how could you possibly afford…? We don't have…I…I don't understand…"

She expectantly stared at her daughter.

"Enough to fill my cupboard and then some," Ginny replied, "And Sirius bought them."

"WHAT!?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.

"Ginny!" Mr. Weasley cried, "How could you?"

"I am so sorry, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley quickly said, "We'll return these clothes at once! I can't believe the nerve of you, Ginny! We've raised you better than this!"

"How could you ask him to do a thing like that?" Mr. Weasley cried.

"I didn't!" Ginny cried.

"She didn't," Sirius simultaneously said, "I offered. To be fair, she put up a good fight."

"Haven't we always taught you to be modest?" Mr. Weasley continued, "Haven't we always taught you the importance of humbleness?"

"But Sirius was happy to buy them," Ginny pressingly said, "He was insistent…"

"I don't care," Mr. Weasley retorted, "You still should have been humble!"

Sirius rolled his eyes and quietly said, "A man crawls along a scorched desert, exhausted and dehydrated. A passerby offers him a spot of water to drink. But the man refuses. Is that humbleness or is that foolishness?"

Mr. Weasley merely stared at him.

"I still can't believe this," Mrs. Weasley hissed, "I can't…I can't believe this…"

Ginny's face felt hot.

She swallowed and stammered, "I…I'm…"

"No," Sirius sharply said, "Juniper, don't you dare get upset! This was an amazing day and you're going to remember it as such. You're not going to let it be tainted."

Ginny threw him an appreciative smile.

"What's done is done," Sirius firmly added, "Ginny and I were both able to benefit from today. She was finally able to get some clothes of her own. And I was able to experience a bit of freedom. And neither of us should have to apologize for that."

"Except for the fact that you blatantly disobeyed my orders," Dumbledore spoke up.

Sirius turned to gaze at him.

The lights flickered overhead as Sirius' eyes blazed.

For a moment, the two seemed to merely have a staring contest of sorts.

"Then again," Dumbledore added, "We can talk about this later."

Sirius firmly nodded.

Mrs. Weasley turned to her daughter and said, "Well, I'm not through talking about this!"

"Yes," Sirius interjected, "You are."

He put a hand on Ginny's shoulder and steered her away.

Deep down, both of them knew that this was far from over. They were both going to face consequences for what they had done.

But they didn't care.

Not really.

Because it had been worth it.

It had been one of the best days that Sirius had had in a decade and a half.

Most importantly, it had been one of the best days of Ginny's life.

Author's Note: A lot of you have been wondering where Harry is. (You're acting as though this is a Harry Potter fanfiction or something!) I've been intentionally waiting. In the book, Harry was at Privet Drive until the Advanced Guard retrieved him on August 2nd/August 3rd. Even when he got to Grimmauld Place, he spent a good deal of his time lost in his own thoughts. This escalates even more over the winter holiday. So, honestly, I don't have much for Harry. He'll be a background character who has a few somewhat major scenes here or there.