Peter was relieved and a little guilty to find that Mrs. Weasley had seemed much quicker to forgive his actions than she had been her own children. Though he thought that was probably because Mrs. Weasley had decided that his discipline should be left up to his own caregiver and the family Owl, Errol, had been dispatched to take a letter to Aunt May explaining what he had done.
Once they had sat down properly for breakfast and the owl was sent, Mrs. Weasley was positively sweet with Peter once more. Though she was very nice to Peter she positively doted on Harry. Peter could guess that she felt bad that Harry didn't really have proper parents. Although she never seemed to speak ill near Harry, Peter's enhanced ears picked up things like, "Skinny as a rat." and "Don't they even feed the poor boy." in between bouts of telling off her kids again.
Peter turned to his own breakfast. In front him sat a hearty helping of Eggs, Toast, Sausage, and a cup full of orange juice. It was quite delicious Peter thought, as he took a big bite out of the toast, but he was a little homesick for some of his Aunt May's wheatcakes. As the breakfast continued Peter heard a loud squeak and then scurrying. He looked over and just saw the figure of little Ginny fleeing the scene. Harry was also looking in that direction,
"Ginny." Ron said simply, "She's been talking about you all summer."
"She'll be wanting your autograph, Harry." George said, grinning at first, but one look from his mother led him to busy himself with his meal.
After the last of the food was eaten Fred put his utensils down and yawned. "Blimey I'm tired I think I'll go to bed and-"
"You will not, it's your own fault that you were up all night. You're going to de-gnome the garden for me; they're completely out of hand again." She said,
Ron opened his mouth to protest but saw the look on his mother's face and thought better of it. She turned to Peter and Harry. "You two can go to bed, Harry you never asked them to fly that dreadful car, and Peter we've already discussed that your Aunt was sent an owl."
Harry jumped up clearly, not feeling tired at all. "I want to help. I've never seen a de-gnoming before." He said.
"I really don't think I should get off the hook just because you aren't my Mom, Mrs, Weasley." Peter said standing up.
"That's very generous of you two but it's dull work." said.
"All the more reason then. Like I said, I took that car. I'm just as responsible as they are." Peter insisted.
"Oh Alright then if you insist. Now let's see what Lockhart has to say on this." She said picking up a book titled "Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests."
The cover had a very handsome Wizard on the front who was smiling and waving to everyone in the room. Peter thought the man in the picture looked a little too perfect, as Mrs. Weasley beamed back at the book.
"He really knows his pests." She said,
"And teeth maintenance." Peter commented looking at the shiny white teeth that the wizard had
"Come on Mum," George groaned. "We know how to De-Gnome a garden."
"Mum fancies him." Fred whispered to Peter and Harry.
Mrs. Weasley flushed, "Well if you think you know better than Gilderoy fine, get on with it, But mercy on you if there's a single Gnome out there when I come to inspect it." She snapped.
Peter hadn't yet seen the Weasley's Garden. When they got outside he had to admit that it was quite impressive, but he also knew that May would not approve. The weeds alone would have made her faint. Peter himself felt the urge to start weeding, given the time he would spend helping his Aunt in their garden.
However, the object of their job soon reared its very ugly head as a gnome poked its head out of the bushes. "'Ey git los'" He snapped at them.
Ron Sighed and walked over to the Gnome picking it up by its ankles and spinning it round upside down until it was incredibly dizzy. He saw the look of horror on Harry's face.
"It doesn't hurt them, honest. We just need to make them really dizzy so that they can't find their way back to the garden easily." He then threw the Gnome over the wall and watched it fly several feet.
"Weak." Fred scoffed. "Bet I could get mine past that hay stack."
Peter just worked on getting gnomes out quietly while the others made a game of it, only looking up when Harry was bitten by a gnome which he then threw close to a hundred feet.
The others looked at Peter expectantly. "What?" Peter asked, "You guys don't want me to play this game. I'll win." He said.
"Come Parker, show us what you got." Fred and George said together.
"Come on mate." Ron encouraged, "You've got to give it a go too."
Peter stood up and rolled up his sleeves with a small smile. "Alright, you asked for it."
Although he had initially refused them, Peter couldn't help but feel a little excited, he rarely got to show off his abilities at home, and even when he did, the wonder had worn off for May long ago. He decided to really show off. He fired weblines which attached to the ankles of several gnomes in the garden.
"Whuffa gerroff" One said as he started to spin around.
The gnomes were all thrown into the air spinning at a speed at the end of Peter's webline before he released it and sent all of them flying well past Harry's last score all at once. The others stood in awe.
There weren't any gnomes left in the garden. With the job done the boys headed back to the house arriving at about the same time as Mr. Weasley had returned home from work.
"Hey Mr. W." Peter said, walking past him.
Arthur just nodded to him and sat down with a heavy sigh. "What a night." He said. "Nine raids nine. And old Mundungus Fletcher tried to hex me when my back was turned."
"Mundungus who?" Peter asked.
"Mundungus Fletcher, Dad talks about him all the time. Sleazy guy." Ron said.
"Did you find anything Dad?" Fred asked eagerly.
"Just a biting kettle and some shrinking door keys." Arthur said.
"Why would anyone want to make door keys that shrink?" Ron asked.
"Just muggle baiting. Sell a muggle a door key that shrinks so he can never find it when he needs it, of course he'll insist he keeps losing it. Muggles will go to any length to avoid magic, bless them, but the things our kind have taken to enchanting…" He said.
"Like cars for instance?" Molly asked, harshly, causing Arthur to choke on his tea.
"Cars? Molly Dear?" He asked,
"Uh-oh something tells me that making his own car fly was a big no-no." Peter said.
As Molly started to lay into Arthur for enchanting his own car, Ron invited Harry up to see his room. Peter, feeling as though it'd be a little awkward for him to stand there on his own listening to his best friend's parents argue, excused himself from the house and took a walk along the countryside.
Now that he really had time to think about it, he contemplated Harry's story about Dobby the house-elf. Harry said he had mentioned something terrible happening at the school, that it was too dangerous for Harry to return. Peter thought that the odds of there actually being something dangerous were low, or rather he would have a year ago. The more he thought about the events of their first year involving the Sorcerer's Stone the more plausible it seemed.
After all that year they had taken on a giant three headed dog named Fluffy, deadly Devil's Snare, Flying door keys with rather sharp wings, a game of chess against giant marble pieces that hit you if they took your piece on the board, a deadly potions puzzle, and a giant mountain troll that would have killed him and Hermione without a second thought. All of which had culminated in Harry facing off against that year's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, who just so happened to have the world's most dangerous dark wizard attached to the back of his head. After all of that Peter figured it probably wasn't impossible to run into other dangers at Hogwarts, but he was pretty certain that they couldn't run into anything much worse than last year. He hoped.
With Harry also at the burrow the next couple of days were spent in constant fun. Harry, Ron, and Peter often talked about Quidditch and played wizards chess with one another, and Peter spent a good deal of time with Fred and George who were keen on having him, and his webbing, involved in their pranks and schemes. He noticed Ginny had become much more shy since Harry had arrived, he figured it was something akin to a schoolyard crush, and he was constantly in Mr. Weasley's shed, fixing and explaining all the muggle items the man had collected.
"This looks like it was an Analog, probably built sometime in the 60's." Peter explained as he looked through the inner workings of an old TV. "That said CRT's super busted, without that you wouldn't be getting visual feedback from this thing, even if you were able to pick up FM and AM signals." He said.
"What signals?" Mr. Weasley asked, "Amplitude Modulation and Frequency Modulation, radios work in a pretty similar way, well No-Maj radios do… I'm sure that here in the wizarding world, radios probably magically pick up signals broadcast from things like WWN." Peter said.
"Fascinating, you sure you're a pureblood Peter, you know so much about the muggle world." Mr. Weasley said impressed.
Peter shrugged, "My Mom and Dad were both pureblood so technically yeah, but I was raised by an Uncle who never developed magic, and a No-Maj aunt, so you could argue that my upbringing is closer to No-Maj born or half-blood." He said.
The next morning they all gathered for breakfast, was already waiting for them at the table with Mrs. Weasley and Ginny who, at the sight of Harry, dropped her bowl of porridge on the floor. With a face as scarlet as fall leaves she bent down to pick it up. Peter was sure that Harry noticed this but didn't make anything of it. They sat down for Breakfast, Peter sat next to Ginny, and Mr. Weasley handed each of them an envelope of thick yellow parchment.
"Letters from school. Dumbledore knows that both of you are here Harry, Peter. Doesn't miss a trick. You two have got one too." He said to Fred and George who clambered into the room still dressed in identical pajamas. Though if Peter's eye and his Spider-Sense were as spot on as he hoped it seemed that they had switched Pajamas with eachothers first initials on them.
He opened his letter which told him to catch the train on the First of September, and a list of the new books he'd be needing this year.
Second year students will require:
The standard book of spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with The Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart.
He peeked over at Ginny's list. Along with all the usual first year equipment and books, she also had the full list of Lockhart books assigned. Peter looked back at Mrs. Weasley's copy of "Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests' ' which rested on a nearby kitchen counter.
The photograph of the wizard caught Peter's eye and gave him a wink and flashed another charming smile. He looked over at Harry, Ron, Fred, and George who were all reading their lists as well. When done with his Fred peeked at Harry's list.
"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books too. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan, bet it's a witch." He said, but at the sight of Mrs. Weasley busied himself with the marmalade in front of him.
"Well whoever it is they've certainly got a complex for the guy. Based on the titles these sound like they'd read more like novels than they would actual practical books." Peter commented, ignoring the somewhat offended look Mrs. Weasley gave him.
"This won't come cheap Mum. Lockhart's books are really expensive." George said, looking up from his list.
"Well we'll manage, I expect we can get most of Ginny's things second hand." Mrs. Weasley replied, though Peter couldn't help but notice the worry in her expression.
Just then Percy came down, fully dressed, his hair done, and his prefects badge pinned to his sweater. "Morning all. Lovely day." He said, with a bright expression.
"Ah Perce, welcome back to the land of the living." Peter quipped, to which Percy gave him no response.
"Finally decided to come and eat with us lesser folk, Prefect Percy?" George remarked, to which Percy gave him a nasty glare as he sat down.
Percy yelped and jumped to his feet picking up a mass of feathers that looked to be barely breathing.
"Errol." Ron said, jumping to his feet and scurrying over to the bird. "He's got Hermione's letter. I wrote to her that we were going to try and rescue you from the Durley's Harry." He said.
He tried to place Errol on the perch but the Owl just slumped and landed on the draining board. "Pathetic." Ron said, ripping open the letter.
"Dear Ron, Peter, and Harry, if you're there.
I hope that everything went alright and that Harry got there safely and that you two didn't do something illegal to get him out because that would get Harry into trouble too. If you get this let me know, but you should send a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off. I've been really busy with homework this summer and really been enjoying myself. My parents are taking me to buy my new books next Wednesday. We should meet up in Diagon Alley.
All the best to you three, Love Hermione.
"Busy with homework? How can she be? We're on vacation." Ron said looking dumbfounded.
Peter decided not to mention the four rolls of parchment in his trunk upstairs that were all one single essay on the uses of Ashwinder Eggs in potion making.
"Well that works out nicely. What are you all planning to do today?" Mrs. Weasley asked, whisking away the dishes in front of them.
The plan had been for them to go and practice Quidditch again at a small Paddock the Weasley's owned that was surrounded by trees. Peter tagged along mostly to practice flying, he was still a little embarrassed by his poor performance in the flying lessons classes the previous year, and was eager to get all the practice he could get on a broom.
They couldn't practice with real balls so they threw apples for one another to catch. Everyone took turns on Harry's Nimbus 2000 except for Peter, he could barely keep steady on Ron's shooting star, and he didn't think that he could really be trusted with a top of the line racing broom.
After about thirty minutes he was content to sit back and watch all of them practice while he sat and studied, much to Ron's horror. He had asked Fred and George what books they had been assigned during their second years for the Defense Against the Dark Arts and planned to buy those along with all of Lockhart's books. For now he was reviewing his history of magic texts. He still had several inches of parchment left in his essay on the First Goblin revolution and he wanted to make sure he hadn't missed any key names or dates.
Wednesday came around and after Breakfast everyone gathered around the Weasley's fireplace. Mrs. Weasley pulled out a pot that had some kind of silvery powder in it. Peter immediately recognized this as Floo Powder. Despite never having used it he knew about Floo Powder from books on magical transportation in the Hogwarts Library. Harry however, looked as though he had never even heard of this before, which he probably hadn't. Peter had always avoided using Floo Powder. It had seemed an unpleasant way to travel when he had read about it, with many first hand accounts mentioning feeling as though they were thrown into a blender.
Mrs. Weasley peered into the pot. "We're running low Arthur, we're going to need to buy more soon." She said turning to them. "Alright Harry, you first." She said,
Some of the color seemed to drain from Harry's face as he looked around. "What… what do I do?" He asked.
"Right. Harry's never used Floo Powder before Mum." Ron said, suddenly.
"Right, it's not really something No-Maj people use, or even know about." Peter commented,
"Really then how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school supplies last year?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"I went in the underground." Harry answered,
"Really?" Arthur asked, suddenly very keen. "What was it like, did they have-" But he was cut off by a look from Mrs. Weasley.
"Well if you've never used it before then I suppose we should have someone else show you how it's done. It's really quite simple dear. Fred, go ahead." She said,
Fred walked over to the fireplace and took a handful of the silvery powder. He threw it into the fire, and it roared loudly as the flames grew and changed color into a green inferno. He walked in and yelled.
"Diagon Alley!" And then disappeared, the fire returning to his orange low burn in the fireplace.
Peter and Harry stared wide eyed, if Peter hadn't been sure about what he thought of Floo Powder before he was sure now, he didn't want to be anywhere near it.
George went as Ron and the Weasley parents gave Harry advice. "Make sure to speak very clearly," Mrs. Weasley said,
"And don't get out too soon. You don't want to come out at the wrong grate." Ron said.
"But don't wait too long either, make sure that you get out the moment you see Fred and George." Mr. Weasley said.
Harry, looking as though he was trying hard to remember all of this, took a pinch of the powder and threw it in. As he walked in Peter's Spider-Sense went off, Harry was in or was about to be in a lot of trouble. He lunged forward to pull Harry out of the fire just as Harry seemed to choke.
"D-Daigonedly." And they both disappeared.
Being put into a blender was an apt description, Peter and Harry were both spinning extremely fast seeing Living Room after Living Room until finally they were spat out into a dark room. Peter was quick to recover and landed on his feet, Harry was not so graceful in his exit, as he fell face first and a snapping noise was heard.
Peter helped him up hoping that his nose wasn't broken, but as it turned out that snapping noise had been the ridge of his glasses which Harry now had to hold against his face. Peter whipped out his wand and tapped Harry's glasses repairing them, before taking a look around the room.
To his, and Harry's horror they had not come out at the fire of the Leaky Cauldron like Peter assumed they were supposed to. They were in a dingy old Wizard's shop, one full of items that you would never find on a Hogwarts Schoolist. There were skulls in jars, poisons, scabby body parts, and objects with listings of curses on them. One tea kettle was in the corner with a note that read,
"Do not touch. Cursed. Has claimed the lives of sixteen muggle owners to date."
"Harry, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." Peter quipped.
"What?" Harry asked, looking at a scabby old hand.
"Bad joke." Peter said, as his Spider-Sense went off again. "Someone's coming. Hide."
Harry found his way into a cabinet and Peter with very few other options available found a little nook on the ceiling that was even darker than the rest of the shop and he leaped up sticking to it. A bell rang signaling the opening of the door and Peter saw Draco Malfoy walk in.
What's Snow-White doing in a place like this? Peter thought to himself.
Behind Draco, a larger man walked in with long hair just as blonde as Malfoy's. This man was, undoubtedly, Draco's father Lucius Malfoy. Peter had never met the man but he did absentmindedly wonder if he had, in fact, heard about everything. There was a sound of shuffling footsteps, and a greasy man, who Peter guessed was the owner of the store, appeared at the front desk.
"Ah Mr. Malfoy, good to see you sir, Are you looking for anything specific sir, I just got a new set of fine poisons in that-"
"I'm not buying today Borgin but selling." Lucius said, in a sneering voice that was just like his sons, apart from maybe being a little deeper.
"Selling sir?" The man called Borgin asked,
"Yes, the ministry is growing more meddlesome as of late, and there are a few items I have at home that would be… embarrassing if the ministry were to come knocking." Lucius answered,
Really? What skeletons does Snow-White senior have in his closet… Peter thought with keen interest.
"The ministry wouldn't presume to bother you sir?" Borgin asked.
"Not yet, the name Malfoy still commands some respect but that respect wanes with every passing day. There's talk of a new Muggle Protection Act. No doubt the idea of that flea bitten blood traitor Arthur Weasley." Lucius said,
Keep talking Mr. Malfoy, and you might just get bitten by a different kind of bug. Peter thought angrily.
He looked over from his little nook trying to get a closer look at the list Malfoy had handed Borgin. The writing was unfortunately too small to read properly from where Peter was. Peter knew that what he was about to do was a terrible idea, and yet he knew he was going to it anyway.
Draco asked if he could have the scabby hand which Borgin identified as a thief's tool called "The Hand of Glory."
"I would hope my son would amount to more than a thief Borgin." Lucius said coldly,
"No offense sir, no offense meant of course." Borgin said, quickly.
"Though if his grades don't pick up, that might be all he's destined for." Lucius said with even more venom.
"It's not my fault, it's that Hermione Granger's fault, the teachers all love her. Her and that freak Peter Parker," Malfoy spat,
Freak? Awww he does care. Peter thought inwardly with a smirk.
"I would think that you were a little more insulted by the fact that a Muggleborn was outpreforming you in all your classes." Lucius said, "And leave the Spider alone, He will find a way to get himself into more trouble than he can handle, you remember his father… The Parker's bite off more than they can chew,"
"Besides," Draco said, changing the subject. "I thought you were going to buy me a present."
"I said I would buy you a racing broom." Lucius said.
Malfoy just complained more about how there was no point if he wasn't on the house team, and then he started complaining about Harry. Lucius finally dismissed Draco and went back to Borgin's list.
Peter noticed Draco inching closer to Harry's cabinet. If Harry was caught now there would be trouble. Peter looked around for something to distract them but Lucius, luckily, was done.
"Finished. Come Draco." He said, beckoning his son.
As they left Lucius turned back one more time. "Good day Borgin." He bid, leaving the shop.
Borgin's greasy friendly demeanor dropped instantly, "Good day yourself Mr. Malfoy, I'll bet that this list doesn't even amount to half of what's hidden in your mansion."
Borgin then looked down and reached under the front desk searching for something. Seeing his chance, Peter quickly shot a webling which stuck to the paper and pulled the webbing back into his wrist, catching the paper.
Yoink! He thought with amusement.
When Borgin looked up he went wide eyed.
"What the- THIEF!" He ran out of his shop thinking that whoever had taken it must have slipped in and out quietly.
While he was distracted Peter descended using a webline and saw a large bookshelf in the back of the shop. He shot another line of Spider Silk, pulled it down with a loud crash, and quickly pulled the webbing back to return to the ceiling. Borgin ran into the back of his shop.
"What the devil is going on here!" He yelled as he ran deeper to the back of his shop.
Peter landed deftly on the ground as Harry also exited the cabinet he was in, and they both left the shop together with Borgin none the wiser to the fact that they were ever there. Outside the shop wasn't much better than inside the shop. The Alleyway they found themselves in was just as dinghy and unwelcoming. There was a sign on a blackened brick wall that read, "Knockturn Alley."
"Oh no." Peter said, "Harry this definitely isn't where we want to be." He said. "And I mean like, we REALLY don't want to be here."
They were being stared at by witches and wizards, none of whom looked at though they would offer a helping hand to get out. Peter grabbed Harry's sleeve and started walking. Quickly and with purpose trying to look as though he knew exactly where he was going,.. He didn't.
Knockturn Alley, just my luck that we end up in the wizarding world's version of crime alley. Peter thought to himself.
His Uncle Ben had told him about Knockturn Alley, it was where you went for the magic you couldn't find anywhere that was reputable. It was a place for dark magic and even darker folk. Not the kind of place two twelve year old kids wearing Gryffindor robes wanted to be seen, even if one of them had the strength of ten or more men.
In his rush to leave Peter hadn't noticed someone turning the corner and bumped into the large man. "Watch where you are going, child." He said in a Russian accent.
"Sorry man, just trying… to…" Peter trailed off looking at the large man.
If Hagrid wasn't around Peter would have said this was the biggest man he had ever seen. He looked to be all muscle and had a mane of black hair and black mustache. His eyes were a deadly shade of brown and his expression while neutral could kill three times over. The man was carrying a bag full of hearts from some kind of animal.
"This is no place for children, be gone from my sight before-"
"PETER! HARRY!" A familiar voice boomed.
Peter and Harry turned with relief to face the Hogwarts Gamekeeper Hagrid marching right up to them. Next to Hagrid this other man no longer seemed quite so large. Hagrid peered at the man.
"Rubeus Hagrid, so wonderful to see you." The man said in a form of mock politness.
"Sergei Kravenoff, what're yeh doin' here. Not gettin' inter any trouble I hope." Hagrid said with a coldness Peter hadn't heard before.
"Oh Hagrid, still so venomous, still so naive." The man called Sergei said, waving the bag of hearts in his hands with little regard for the contents.
Peter getting a closer look recognized what they were. "Those are dragon hearts. Where did you get those?" He asked.
Sergei looked at him. "That is no concern of yours Mr…"
"Parker." Peter said, trying to sound braver than he felt, he had a feeling that man had come to those hearts in a more brutal way. The man had the look of a magical creature hunter about him.
"Parker… interesting, I thought the Spiders had died out with Richard." He said.
Hagrid gripped Peter's shoulder and pulled him back forcefully. "Come on, both of yeh. No sense hangin' around here." He said.
"Have a nice day Hagrid, Peter…" The man said.
Hagrid silently led them through the twisting turning Alley right into Diagon Alley. "How did the two of yeh end up in a place like Knockturn Alley? Dodgy place."
"Floo Powder accident." Peter said. His Spider-Sense went off and he ducked Hagrid's hand which instead found its way to Harry and started beating off the soot from his clothing.
"Who was that Hagrid? That man you talked to." Harry asked.
"Sergei Kravenoff, most people call him Kraven." Hagrid spat,
"Not a fan I take it?" Peter asked.
"He's a right piece o' work, got a keen interest in magical beasts, 'cept instead of carin' for 'em he hunts 'em." Hagrid explained.
So he does hunt magical beasts. That explains why Hagrid dislikes him. Peter thought.
"So those dragon hearts…" Peter said,
"Probably his latest trophies." Hagrid muttered angrily.
"How come he knew you? He didn't sound like he attended Hogwarts?" Harry asked.
"I was doin' a favor for Dumbledore, this was before you were born mind, and I found myself in China looking for somethin' Dumbledore wanted." Hagrid began, "Kraven was there too, lookin' for the same creature, a Qui-Lin, Dumbledore, wanted to befriend one, thought it would be able to help us know who teh trust durin' the dark times. Kraven was huntin' it."
"Did you manage to get to it first?" Peter asked,
Hagrid shook his head, "No, Kraven might be everythin' that's wrong with magizoology, but he knows his stuff. He found it, killed it, and collected some of its parts, an' left it for me to find a day later. Kraven's a bad egg through and' through." Hagrid replied before rounding on Peter.
"And yeh shouldn't have told him you were a Parker, Peter! Goin' around tellin' people you're a Spider? That's askin' for trouble."
