Harry Potter and the Unfulfilled Prophecy

Chapter Four: Padfoot's Memorial

The rest of the week leading up to Sirius's memorial was extremely gloomy and was spent getting the house in the best shape it had been in since Mrs. Black was alive. Long rugs were rolled down each separate staircase and a tablecloth was added to the extremely elongated table. The windows had light-colored fabrics flowing from them and Mrs. Weasley had changed the colors of their bed sheets. It was now almost spotless and they had more lights throughout the house. This made it appear more cheery, although its inhabitants didn't mirror its atmosphere.

Harry had decided he would try to say a few things at Sirius's memorial. The key word was try. He didn't want to show all of his feelings to everyone who would be there. So, if he started to lose control over his emotions, he would quickly wrap it up and sit down. He wondered how many people were going to be there. He would find out soon enough.

The morning they left for the memorial, there was a slight chill in the air. Everyone who was at Grimmauld Place left the house by twos and threes so as not to attract attention. Mrs. Weasley and Tonks left first. They were closely followed by Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Harry and Professor Lupin were the last to leave. They met up at a completely abandoned park. Harry noticed how the deserted park reflected his feelings exactly... empty and alone. The rusted swings were suspended in the air and moved only when an occasional breeze passed by. Lupin bent down and picked up an empty soda can.

"Thirty seconds everyone... gather round," Lupin said as everyone began forming a circle and holding onto the can, "alright... three -- two -- one."

Harry hardly even seemed to notice the strange tug behind his stomach that transported him to the front gates of Hogwarts. Wow, thought Harry, it's great to be back here again. The weather at the school was much better than at the park. The sun was completely up and was shining brightly above mountains off in the east. The group walked through the gates and gathered at Hagrid's hut close to the Forbidden Forest where a crowd of people, all wearing black robes, had already congregated.

Harry tried to see who had decided to or been able to come. He already counted himself, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Tonks, Lupin, and Mrs. Weasley. He saw Fred and George waving their arms for them to come over to them. It was odd to see the twins without smiles on their faces. Mad Eye Moody, Mundungus Fletcher, and Kingsley Shacklebolt were also amongst the crowd. Harry was a little bit surprised to see Neville Longbottom there with his grandmother and Luna Lovegood with (who Harry assumed to be) her dad. Dumbledore must have met with their families and explained the innocence of Sirius. Harry mildly wondered if Luna's dad was there under the pretence of going to the memorial of Stubby Boardman, a famous singer, rather than Sirius Black. He hoped and prayed that he wouldn't read an article about the memorial in a future edition of The Quibbler... Luna's dad was the editor of the gossip magazine.

So far, he counted fifteen people he recognized, not including himself. There were still many others. He saw Hagrid, who was looking a lot healthier than the last time they had seen him. Mr. Weasley had come to Hogwarts directly from the Ministry of Magic and had been talking with Hagrid, but was now making his way over to talk with his wife. Harry then saw Dumbledore with his back facing him. He was talking rather animatedly to someone directly in front of him, but the headmaster prevented Harry from seeing who. When their conversation seemed to have ended, Dumbledore turned around and began walking in Harry's direction revealing who he had been speaking to... Severus Snape. A chill of anger ran down Harry's spine.

"Why is Snape here?" Harry whispered loudly to Ron and Hermione.

"How should I know? I thought he hated Sirius," was Ron's answer.

Harry just couldn't stand having that man there. If he was there just to gloat over that fact that the man he hated was dead, then Harry would have to do something about that. Before Hermione or Ron could get a good grip on Harry's robes, he was striding quickly in the Potions professor's direction. He then stood directly in front of Snape, filled with loathing that was about to spill over.

"What are you doing here?" Harry demanded of his teacher.

"Don't you mean, 'What are you doing here, sir'?" Snape corrected him, his lips curling into a sneer.

"What are you doing here?" Harry repeated, his tone getting even more impatient.

"I am here because I choose to be, Potter. True, I despised the man, he tried to kill me, after all. He was... a... a great wizard, though," Snape said, obviously almost choking on his own words, "Besides, he was fighting for the same thing I am, Potter. There, is that reason enough to satisfy your arrogant mind?"

Harry clenched his fists at his side. Using all the self-control he had, he turned around and walked away. He met up with his friends and gave them his professor's reply, inserting minor obscenities directed at Snape along the way. Ron and Hermione shared Harry's loathing for the professor and never could understand why Dumbledore trusted the man. Harry continued to look around at the crowd and soon realized that there was only one person he didn't know. It was a young girl who looked to be about his age. She stood at the back of the group with her head down, revealing dark hair pulled back in a simple bun. Before Harry could wonder about the girl any longer, Dumbledore stepped onto a slightly raised platform and called for everyone's attention.

"Please, if you would all gather together and extend your right hand, a flower will soon appear that you can place by the headstone when the memorial has ended."

As the congregation started walking slowly towards where Dumbledore stood, they held out their hands. Everyone soon had a red rose in the palm of their hand except Harry, who held a single white lily. Immediately, Harry wished he wasn't the only one to have a different flower. He was always the one that stood out for so many various reasons he had no control over. That fact had haunted him his whole life and he was sick of it. In this case, however, he was too grief-stricken to feel any anger.

"Everyone, please sit," Dumbledore said as chairs suddenly appeared behind each person. "Thank you... of course, I wish that all of us had gathered here for a more cheerful occasion, but that is not so. We are here to mourn the death of a friend who laid down his life so that others might be spared. He was a truly great wizard and deserves the thanks of the entire Ministry. As of right now, he does not have that, however. For now, he will be carried with us in our hearts." At this, Harry saw Snape try to hide a smile and anger suddenly flared up within him. Dumbledore's voice continued on, however, which mildly assuaged Harry's rage.

"I now invite anyone who wishes to, to come up and say a few words about what Sirius Black meant to them." Dumbledore finished, stepped down and sat down in a chair off to the side. At this, Harry saw Hagrid stand up slowly. He didn't need to stand on the platform because he was so tall already. He began to speak wearily.

"Sirius was a great man," Hagrid began, "I knew him ever since he went ter Hogwarts. He would've never 'armed a fly," hearing Snape snigger, he added, "as long as the fly didn't do anything ter 'im. He didn't deserve wha' he got, but he dealt with it anyway. He was always the life o' the party whenever there was one. He was a great wizard an' I'll miss 'im dearly." With that, Hagrid sat back down in his over-sized chair and bowed his head. As Hagrid sat down, Tonks stood up and took the platform.

"I didn't really know Sirius until last year. I should have... he was my cousin. I didn't know him for very long, but for the time that I did, it made me happy that I was around. He always put on a brave face no matter what. He had the resolve of an elephant... and the temper of a bull," she added as an afterthought. At this, a few in the crowd let out a little laugh. "I'm sorry I didn't get to know him better, but I know he'll be watching out for all of us. We miss you, Sirius." When Tonks made her way back to her seat, Harry decided that it was his turn to speak. He got up, shaking slightly in the process, and stepped up on the platform.

"Sirius Black was my godfather, but he was also the closest thing I've ever had to an actual dad. He meant a lot to me and I miss him a lot now. He was always funny and always courageous... whether it involved staying cooped up for an entire year or... or laying down his life for a better future. I'll always remember..." Harry's voice cut off so he decided to sit down before his emotions got the best of him. "Rest in peace, Sirius. I miss you."

With that, he left the podium and sat down in his seat looking rather distressed. Several people took the stand after Harry did, but he didn't notice. He wished it was over so he could get away. He wondered who that girl was who was standing in the back of the crowd, but when he looked back, she was gone. When the last person had spoken, Harry walked over to where she had stood and saw a single red rose lying on the grass. He picked it up. He laid his flower and hers on top of the mass of flowers next to Sirius's headstone that read:

Padfoot

Beloved Ally

Beloved Friend

Beloved Godfather

*~*Watch Over Us Always*~*

Rest in Peace Snuffles

Harry was now extremely spent by all that had happened in the past week or so. All he wanted to do was to get home and collapse back onto his bed. When the memorial was disbanded, the group from Grimmauld Place began to walk back down to the gates they had entered from. When they got there, they found the same soda can they had used to get there. Lupin picked it up and looked at his watch.

"Hmm... we're a bit early," Lupin said to the others, "We didn't count on it going so quickly, I guess. We've got about an hour to waste if you want to go down to Hogsmeade. What do you say we all go down and get us all some butterbeer, huh?"

He was answered by various mutterings of "Sure" and "Why not" and the occasional "Whatever" by those around him. Looking rather glum, everyone followed Professor Lupin and the soon-to-be Professor Tonks down into Hogsmeade.

"Why didn't you get up and speak, Remus," Tonks asked quietly so no one else would hear.

"I just didn't feel like it, that's all," Lupin said, his voice a little on edge.

"Something's bothering you, I can tell," she whispered, "I'll find out soon enough. Just know you can talk to me. Remember, Sirius was my cousin. I cared about him, too."

"Look, he may be related to you, but he was my best friend, alright? I cared about him more than you ever could..." his voice trailed off, "I'm sorry Tonks, I just snapped. It's been rough lately and you just happened to be the one in range. I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it, Remus. I understand. Things have been all over the place recently. We'll get some butterbeer and afterwards, everything will be looking just peachy." Tonks said, with a playful gleam in her eyes and a mischievous grin on her face.

"Tonks, we have teenagers with us... What kind of an example would we be to them?" Lupin answered with a similarly playful tone in his voice, "That's rhetorical... please don't answer that. I can see those gears shifting in your head ready to come up with an inappropriate answer."

"Fine, ruin all the fun then," Tonks said, with the smile still flickering across her face.

They all sat down at a large table and Lupin ordered a round of butterbeer for everyone. As Harry downed his first gulp of butterbeer, he felt the familiar warmth it brought inside of him. It didn't seem to comfort him to the degree it used to, though. Harry noticed with mild interest that Remus wasn't comforted much at all by the soothing drink. Poor guy, he thought to himself, he must be having just as bad of a day as I am. Lupin looked at his watch, shook his head and blinked hard so his eyes would focus.

"Alright," he announced to the group, "We've got to go now. We've got ten minutes before we need to get to the portkey." They all got up and walked out the door. Lupin was the last to leave, but soon caught up with Tonks who was leading the group.

They reached the front gates quickly and only had to wait a few minutes before Professor Lupin instructed them all to hold onto the soda can once more.

"Alright everyone," he said, staring hard at his watch, "three -- two -- one..." With that, they were all soon transported back to the deserted park where a single raven was the only other living thing around. They all walked gloomily back to Grimmauld Place and entered through the enchanted front door. Lupin went directly up to his room, via the now carpeted staircases, and fell asleep, too tired to even think. Harry followed suit and fell right off to sleep in his room. No one questioned the two because they knew they wouldn't want to talk about anything. Everyone else went about their regular business that day, but they were running out of cleaning jobs to do. Boredom would set in within the next few days if nothing happened soon.

Chapter Five: Diagon Alley

The morning following Sirius's memorial, school barn owls arrived at Harry and Ron's window. Other owls had, no doubt gone to Ginny and Hermione's room. Ron opened his envelope. As the piece of parchment unfolded, the same prefect badge he had the year before fell onto his lap.

"Good, I'm still prefect, Harry!" Ron said enthusiastically, holding up the badge with a big "P" on it.

"I thought you still had yours from last year," Harry said quizzically.

"No, we had to turn them in at the end of term last year. They return them to you if they still want you to be a prefect."

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense. I suspect Hermione's got hers back, too," Harry said, with a slight grin on his face.

Immediately as Harry finished speaking, Hermione, followed closely by Ginny, entered the room. Hermione looked breathless with her enthusiasm. She had almost dragged Ginny downstairs the whole way.

"Harry, Ron! Did your owls just come, too?!" Hermione exclaimed breathlessly, "Guess what?! I've got great news!" She let out a high pitched squeal.

"I know," said Ron with a knowing look in his eyes, "you're prefect again... I am too."

"Well, yes, I am! But that's not it! It's... no, it's too good, I can't tell them, it's too exciting. Ginny, you do it!"

Ginny looked rather embarrassed to have been put in the spotlight by Hermione. However, with Hermione's urging, Ginny slowly held up a scarlet prefect badge. Harry noticed that the color of her face was approaching the shade of the crimson insignia. She was rather flushed because she wondered what Harry thought of her. Now that she was prefect, did he think of her as just a goody-goody? Last June, Ginny had had only a fleeting crush on Dean Thomas, although her brother still thought otherwise. Much to her dismay, she had reverted back to liking Harry again. She found it easier to talk to him, though, than when she had liked him previously.

"Gin, that's great!" Ron exclaimed, "Have you told mum yet? She'll be thrilled! This is bloody brilliant! Welcome to the club."

Among the excitement, no one seemed to notice the look on Harry's face upon Ron's last words. Even though he knew Dumbledore thought he was good for the position of a prefect, he couldn't help but feel left out of the celebration. Now he was that odd one out. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were now all prefects and he wasn't. He was, however, extremely happy for Ginny.

Once Mrs. Weasley heard about Ginny's position, she made a big well-to-do about it. She offered to get Ginny an owl for a present for becoming a prefect. She was unimaginably delighted that all of her children, excluding Fred and George, had become prefects. Ginny accepted her mother's offer gratefully. She had always wanted an owl ever since she saw how beautiful Hedwig was. The Weasley's probably wouldn't be able to afford a snowy owl, but she wanted a distinctive owl nonetheless. Hopefully she could find a special one at Eeylops when they went to Diagon Alley. The wonderful news had made Mrs. Weasley so happy that she made an unusual offer.

"What would you all think," Mrs. Weasley started, as if almost thinking to herself, "if we went down to Diagon Alley tomorrow instead of a week before term? I know it's really early, but if you think about it..." Mrs. Weasley held up her forefinger to indicate the number one, "we'll beat the crowds," her middle and forefinger were now extended, "Ginny will have more time to bond with her sweet little owl, and third, your books will keep you entertained since there's not much more cleaning to do around here. Plus, we'll be able to pay a visit to Fred and George. I'd say that's enough reason to go, don't you think?"

"Are you kidding, mum? That's brilliant!" Ron yelled excitedly.

"You mean I can get my owl tomorrow?" Ginny asked, not waiting for her mother's answer, she began jumping up and down in excitement.

"Oh!" Hermione said, close to tears of joy, "this will give me extra time to go over all of my books carefully! Thank you so much Mrs. Weasley!"

"I've wanted to visit their shop ever since the beginning of the summer." Harry said delightedly. When he showed up, the twins would undoubtedly want to know if the benefactor had tried any of their products already.

The four teenagers ran excitedly up the stairs to make lists of everything they would need at Diagon Alley. They each went and looked at their letters to see what books they would need for their classes. Since Harry and Ron were both interested in becoming Aurors, it was no surprise to them that they needed the same books. It was obvious that basic-level books would no longer be acceptable in N.E.W.T.'s courses. Their booklist read:

Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6 By Miranda Goshawk (Charms)

An Encyclopedia of Potion Ingredients By Webster Meldin (Potions)

Enhancing the Art of Potion Brewing By Oswald Diddington (Potions)

100 Ways to Repel Dark Forces By Anabelle Wharton (Defense Against the Dark Arts)

Advanced Transfiguration By Wilhelm Stoppich (Transfiguration)

Magical Plants and Herbs: Remedies vs. Enemies By Johandra Butterlint (Herbology)

"Ah, man. That's just like Snape to give us two books to lug around, the big troll." Ron said in a gloomy voice, "But on the bright side, Harry... we got in! I can't believe he would give the okay to have us in his N.E.W.T.s class! He said only the best students would get into that class! He really doesn't think you and I are really that good, does he? Ugh... but that means another year with Snape. With our luck, we'll have double Potions with Slytherin again."

"Hmmm..." Harry said, thoughtfully, "I wonder if it has to do with our career advice session we had last year. You know, with Professor McGonagall? I told her I wanted to be an Auror... I assume you did, too... and she said she would do everything she could to make sure I would be an Auror. Although I think part of it may have been because she wanted to smite that old shrew, Umbridge. But I wonder if she might have fought with Snape over us? It'd be really great of her if she did."

"Yeah, although I can't imagine what she would have had to say to get him to agree with her. But still, even though we got into the class, it doesn't mean he's going to like us any more than he did before."

"You know what, Ron?" Harry said, with a tone of defiance in his voice, "This year's going to be different. He's always had something to yell at me for. I'm not going to let him be on my tail any more. He won't have anything to perfect. You know what? I'm going to read through those two books and I'm going to know everything in them by the start of term."

"Gee, man. I didn't know you were that determined," Ron said, looking quite shocked, "Are you sure you want to read both of them? I mean... these are textbooks after all. They're not the most interesting things in the world. Plus, I'm sure they're really long and really hard to understand."

"I know... it won't be fun, but what will be fun is seeing the look on Snape's face when I get his answers right or when I ace a test. Plus, since we're going to pick the books up tomorrow, I'll have almost three whole weeks to read them. I won't have a lot of extra time to spare for the rest of the summer, but hey, 'Mione will be proud of me... Hey, what's this?" Harry said as he pulled out a small note from behind his supplies list. It was a note from Dumbledore and Harry read it out loud so Ron could hear it as well.

"Dear Harry,

I am writing to inform you that you will again be taking Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape for the duration of your sixth year. I believe it is vital to your health and your life. Remember, Harry, Professor Snape is giving up his personal time to teach you. If nothing else, please respect him for that. On a lighter note, your Firebolt has been kept safe in my office over the summer. I'm sure you've been worried about it. Since I am, again, Headmaster, I will see to it that you be re-instated to your former position as Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Albus Dumbledore"

"No way!" Harry yelled and threw the letter down in frustration, "There is no way they are going to get me to do this again! They still don't think I can watch over myself! I can function just fine without that stupid class, why won't they just let it go?"

"Umm... Harry" Ron said, very tentatively, "well... it's just that... I don't really think you've done all that well with it. I mean, I hear you when you wake up with those dreams. Since you haven't told us about them, I can only assume they're about V.. Vol... You-Know-Who." He looked rather sheepish after just saying these things to his best friend. Harry sighed in frustration and resignation.

"I guess you're right. I don't know how Dumbledore found out I wasn't doing all that well. He has his ways, I guess. I wonder how he convinced Snape to teach me again... Well, this is just great, I've got another year of extra classes with him to look forward to."

"Man, sorry," Ron said, looking rather sympathetically, "That's real rough. It makes sense, though."

"Yeah, I s'pose," Harry said, with a doomed expression on his face.

"But on the bright side, Harry, your broom's safe and you get to play Quidditch again. That ought to brighten your day." Ron said encouragingly.

"Yeah, that's great, but still. Even that isn't enough to overshadow another year with Snape and Occlumency. I mean... until I get it right he has free reign over my memories. He can see anything! I really need to get good at this soon."

"I'm sorry, Harry. I'd say I'd do it for you, but then I'm not you and well, we are talking about Snape, here. Hmm... well, I wonder what classes Hermione's taking this year. She never told us what she's deciding on doing once she's out of Hogwarts." Ron said, hoping to lighten the mood after Harry's uproar.

"That's true, she hasn't," Harry agreed, "Let's go up and ask her."

They walked up to her room and pounded on the door, quite unnecessarily loud.

"Come in!" the girls said. Ron and Harry came in and found Hermione and Ginny each sitting on their beds looking at their envelopes.

"Hey girls," Ron said cordially, "we wanted to ask you Hermione... what classes are you taking this year? You never told us what you decided on doing... you know... for a career."

"Oh, I guess I didn't. I decided I'm going to be a teacher," Hermione said emphatically.

Ron and Harry rolled their eyes. They should have guessed. Of course Hermione would be a teacher. She loved school enough already, why shouldn't she just live there her whole life? It was a brilliant idea, really and it fit her perfectly.

"Well," Ron said, "what do you want to teach?"

"I thought about that for a long time and I decided on Charms. It's bloody useful and I've always been good at it. What do you think?" Hermione asked the two boys.

"I think it's great, Herm," Harry said, "It makes a lot of sense and it sounds like you'll have a lot of fun with it."

"Please don't make a habit of calling me that," Hermione said, sounding mildly irritated, "So what classes do you two need to focus on for your N.E.W.T.s?"

"Hmmm..." Ron said thoughtfully, "we need Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology. I don't really get why we need to take Herbology, but I guess it will come in handy somehow."

"Well, hopefully we'll have most of our classes together. Instead of taking Herbology though, I'm going to take Ancient Runes. Oh, by the way, Harry. I hope you don't mind, but I went and checked the symbols on Sirius's pensieve. I copied them down onto some parchment so I don't have to look at it again. There weren't a whole lot of different ones on it. They seemed to be repeating. From what I can tell, it just says 'Property of...' and then I can't translate the name, but unless Sirius inherited it from someone, I assume it means Sirius Black."

"Oh," said Harry, "well I guess that makes sense. Why would you bother, though with ancient runes when hardly anyone knows what they mean? Oh well, I guess I'll never know. Thanks, though 'Mione."

"No problem, Harry. There are a few more that I haven't gotten that were down near the base of it. I'll let you know what they mean as soon as I figure them out."

"Okay, thanks." Harry said appreciatively, he turned to Ginny, "So have you figured out what kind of an owl you're going to get? They're really awesome and really helpful."

"I don't really know what kind I'm going to get yet. I think Hedwig's really beautiful, but I don't think we can afford a snowy owl," Ginny added, turning slightly red, "I want one that'll be really distinctive, though. You know, one that stands out."

"Have you decided what its name is going to be?" Harry asked.

"I need to see it first before I can name it. The name has to fit what it looks like and everything." Ginny replied.

"Well," Ron said with an irritated and sarcastic tone in his voice, "hopefully you won't name it something to the effect of 'Pigwidgeon'. Really, how did you ever think of a name like that, Gin?" She shot him a menacing glare and Harry decided they should leave before a sibling quarrel broke out.

"Right, well, we're going to go down and make a list of everything we need," Harry said, pulling Ron by the arm.

"Alright," Hermione yelled after them, "see you soon."

The rest of that day was spent in gleeful anticipation of the next day. A list of everything they would need had been completed by each of the students. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had to get all brand-new books for their classes since they were specialized N.E.W.T.s courses.

The next morning everyone got up rather early in eagerness to start their day. They rushed through breakfast and then ran to get their lists. The group went downstairs and waited patiently at the door. They could not use Floo Powder because it would draw too much attention to the house. They needed to use another portkey, so they walked down to the deserted park again and found a discarded plastic bag. They were right on time and soon found themselves in the rather empty streets of Diagon Alley.

Rather empty for Diagon Alley still meant that there were bustling people about, but there wasn't the usual just-before-school crowd clogging the streets. The group's first stop was at Gringott's to get money. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys each went separately to their vaults and met up with their coin pouches much heavier. After they had gotten their money, they decided to go help Ginny look for her owl first, so they walked over to Eeylop's Owl Emporium.

When they walked in, they were greeted by the sight of owls completely lining the walls of the store. Ginny appeared as if she were in wonderland. There were so many to choose from, but she was immediately drawn to what was labeled as a female "Black and White Owl" on the far wall. In relation to Hedwig, it was a bit smaller and the complete opposite in color. This owl had magnificent plumage that was mainly black in color. It had large black eyes and a black mask about its face. On its neck and chest were black feathers mingled with beautiful silver ones that shined brightly and reflected the light. If Ginny wanted a distinctive owl, this would be the one.

She looked crestfallen at the sight of the price. It was about five Galleons more than she knew their family could afford, and that was without a cage. Looking at the description, she saw why the bird cost so much. It was a rare owl and very distinctive. It had cost them a lot of money to catch such a magnificent bird. She began to look at other owls and was about to settle on getting an attractive striped owl when someone stepped up behind her.

"Here," Harry whispered to Ginny as he put ten Galleons in her hand, "pretend its yours and tell your mum you'll pay the difference. Get her a nice cage, too." He casually walked away. Ginny went up to her mom, pretending to make a big sacrifice with the money in her hand. After all, if it really had been her money, she would have been extremely reluctant to give it up.

"Mum," she said, holding out her hand, "I really want to get that Black and White Owl. I'll pay the difference and I'll pay for her cage, too."

"Ginny," her mother said, looking rather flabbergasted, "how on earth did you get that money?"

"I've been saving up for a long time. I'll have her for a long time so she'll be a good investment. Can I get her, please?" Ginny put on her best puppy-dog face.

"If you're sure you know what you're doing with your money, then yes, we'll get her. Go pick out a cage for her." Mrs. Weasley said.

Ginny could hardly keep herself from jumping up and down as she was looking for a nice cage to get for her. She found one that would do nicely and went up to the counter to wait for the owner to bring her new owl out. Owl and girl immediately bonded and Ginny looked as if she were in seventh heaven. As they walked out of the store, Harry turned to Ginny.

"So what are you going to name her?" he asked, "Have you decided yet?"

"Of course!" Ginny answered excitedly, "I knew the second I saw her. Her name is Shadow. I think it's a beautiful name for her and it's fitting since she's black. I just love her! ... thank you Harry, I'll pay you back somehow."

"Don't worry about it. Plus, I agree, she's a great owl. She seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Yeah, I guess she has," Ginny said happily.

The group decided to brace themselves and make their next stop at Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. The four teenagers had never been inside the store before and weren't sure what they would find...

Inside the store there were different boxes from floor to ceiling with various catchy labels on them. By the pictures and names they could pretty much assume what each box held within. Most of the things Fred and George had come up with were ingenious. They were extremely good at what they did and Harry was proud that he had helped them along. He smiled as he passed a free-standing rack that had a packet of "Extendable Ears". He had used them himself last year and found them to be quite useful. The twins had also come up with a way to make them invisible to all but the user so they would not be noticed.

The twins greeted them cordially and invited them to try some of their candies. They all, however, declined since they didn't know what they would be putting in their mouths.

"Oh, we're hurt," said George, "I would have thought my dear family would have at least given it a go. Oh well, we can't win 'em all. So what brings you all here to Diagon Alley so early?"

"We decided we'd avoid the crowds that hit just before the start of term." Mrs. Weasley explained.

"Oh, I see. Hey, Ginny! What's that? An owl?! Wow. It's really cool looking!" Fred said with a tone of awe in his voice, "What kind is it?"

"It's a black and white owl. Her name is Shadow." Ginny answered.

"Why'd you get it?" George asked.

"Mom paid for most of it because I'm a prefect now," she said, sounding almost embarrassed.

"Of course!" George exclaimed, "I should've known she would get it. Hey, you know what? Let me go get something." He went around to the back of the store and disappeared behind a corridor. He came back with his old Cleansweep in his hand.

"Here," he said, "we don't need it any more. We still have one if we need to use it, but we can Apparate now and there's always Floo Powder. You'll be able to use this for Quidditch. You'll make the team again, I'm sure of it. Go ahead... take it." Ginny reached out tentatively, not sure whether she was hearing right. Her brother was giving her his broomstick? She wouldn't fight it, though.

"You haven't put any spells on it, have you?" she asked jokingly.

"Of course not, Gin. We wouldn't want you to get hurt... Can I interest you in buying some of these?" He held out a box that had a rather ambiguous title on the front of it.

"Er... no, that's okay, George. I will take one of those Extendable Ears, though. I see you've improved them." Ginny said, although she got a rather disturbed look from her mother.

"Ah, we're always improving, little one. Yes, that was a little ingenious idea of Fred's. We remembered how they were always being found while we were listening. Although, I have to admit. We lost a fair amount of them due to the fact that they would become invisible to everyone, even the user. It took a lot of tweaking to get it right, but we got it." He said, smiling proudly.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley said, "We just came by to visit. Maybe we can meet for lunch today while we're here. We've got to go get some new books right now." Everyone else said goodbye as well.

"See you," Fred and George yelled after them in unison.

They proceeded on down the street and made their way to Flourish and Blotts bookstore. Once there, Harry and Ron went off to look for the books they needed. Ginny accompanied Hermione in searching for hers. Hermione had offered to let Ginny take her books from last year, but she decided she would use Ron's. Her brother's books had hardly been opened, while Hermione's were just about tearing down the spine.

While Harry and Ron were looking for their books, Ron mentioned something he'd been meaning to ask Harry for a while.

"Harry?" he asked.

"Yeah?" Harry answered.

"What are you going to be for your animagus? Have you thought about it yet?" He asked.

"Hmm..." Harry said thoughtfully, "well, I haven't really looked at the book or information about it yet, but I am thinking I want to be maybe a dog. Maybe... I mean, it was Sirius who wanted me to become one in the first place. I figured I could just kind of... remember him that way. I'm not sure, though."

"Yeah, a dog would be cool. Sirius sure found it useful," Ron agreed.

All of them soon found the books they needed since they weren't fighting the usual crowds. The group ate lunch with the twins and then went on to find more supplies they needed. They visited various other stores and bought supplies such as quills, ink, and many rolls of parchment. All three of them decided to invest in a quill that took dictation since it didn't cost a whole lot more than a top-of-the-line manual quill. They figured that since their classes would be harder, there would undoubtedly be more extensive essays given by the professors. They figured that they would rather like having their hands in working order instead of sacrificing them to writing rigorous essays. They still had other manual quills for light assignments, but they had a feeling that the dictation quill would come in handy on more than one occasion before the year was over.

Before they knew it, it was nearly three o'clock in the afternoon and it was time to go home. Mrs. Weasley gathered them all outside Ollivander's, the wand shop. She grabbed what looked to be a discarded disposable cup and told them all to hold on. Within a few seconds, everyone appeared back at the park. Ginny had to be especially careful not to draw attention to herself and Shadow because a caged owl would seem extremely out of the ordinary to a muggle passerby. She kept the cage covered by a black blanket so it would appear as if it were just a regular bird cage. They walked back to Number Twelve with their books in regular paper bags. The fact that they were carrying books would not appear odd to a casual observer, but the design and thick spine of the books would have attracted too much interest. Once inside, everyone took their new belongings up to their rooms and began to get their things organized for the start of term, although it was still three weeks away.