Chapter 2

The Leaky Cauldron

On the afternoon of August 30th, while Rachel was upstairs in Lukas' room with Lukas and Jeremy, discussing what teacher would be to take up the Defense Against the Dark Arts position this year (Rachel's bets were on someone dangerous again; Lukas' bets were on someone who hadn't a clue what they were doing; Jeremy just watched them quarrel about it), there was a sudden shout from the living room and Alexis started to cry.

"That'll be them!" said Rachel, jumping up in excitement with Lukas to rush downstairs.

Mrs. Haney was standing in the doorway to the living room, where Alexis had napping on the couch with Mr. Haney, shock on her face as the boy and girl with identical curly blond hair and bright green eyes stood up, covered in soot, apologizing furiously for the scare and the mess.

"Zaine!" Rachel said. "Amy! We weren't expecting you until four—"

"Mum and Dad had to go to the Ministry for business," said Zaine Shaw, grinning when he saw Rachel.

Rachel hugged Zaine, whom she had met last year in the library, while his sister Amy greeted Mrs. Haney and offered to help clean up the soot. Mr. Haney quickly shot upstairs with Alexis to put her in her crib.

Once the soot had been cleaned up (Zaine and Amy had used the Floo network in order to get to the Haney's house) Rachel and Lukas led them upstairs and introduced them to Jeremy, who was enthusiastic to meet more witches and wizards, and then they kicked Jeremy out of Lukas' room and Zaine locked it.

"Did you hear yet?" said Amy, as soon as the lock clicked.

"About Sirius Black?" said Lukas. "Yeah, we read about it in the Daily Prophet—"

"No, not that," said Zaine, waving away what Lukas was saying. "Harry! He blew up his aunt!"

Rachel's jaw dropped.

"What?" she said in disbelief.

Amy nodded, "Yeah, Dad told us about it a few days ago. He's staying at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Dad also said that the Weasley are going there, too," said Zain.

"We know," said Rachel sheepishly. "We should've told you. Sorry."

"No worries," said Zaine.

They spent their time together flying about with Zaine's broomstick in the forest behind the house, hidden from Muggles who couldn't know about the magical world. After dinner, Mr. Haney started a fire in the firepit, which they all gathered around and warmed their hands by while telling stories about their Hogwarts adventures.

Amy would sleep on a spare mattress in Rachel's room; Zaine on a spare mattress in Lukas' room. That evening, Amy told Rachel that she' been crushing on Ron since Easter, which Rachel found amusing, then telling her of the confession letter she'd gotten from the mysterious writer at Valentine's day. Rachel showed her the letter, which she still had, and Amy shrugged, saying that it wasn't the handwriting of anyone she knew well.

The following morning, Mr. Haney woke them up early for breakfast. At nine o'clock, they would be going to the Leaky Cauldron, as they couldn't fit seven people and a baby in the car to go to the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily, Zaine and Amy had thought to bring some Floo powder with them, which they could use.

After breakfast was over, they went upstairs to pack their things. Rachel was still yawning as she and Amy closed their trunks and shooed Rachel's cat Remo, a black cat with three paws, into his cage.

Downstairs, by the fireplace, Rachel hugged Alexis goodbye, promising her parents that she and Lukas would keep Jeremy out of trouble. Then they turned to Zaine and Amy, who had thanked Mr. and Mrs. Haney for letting them stay over.

"How does it work?" said Lukas unsurely, jerking his head to the fireplace, where a fire was roaring.

"Pinch a bit of the powder between your fingers," said Amy, doing so. "Throw it in the fireplace, step in, and say where you want to go. Say it clearly, though—you don't want to end up popping out of the wrong grate."

"Remember, we're going to the Leaky Cauldron," Zaine said.

Amy went first. She threw the Floo powder into the fireplace and the flames turned green. She stepped inside, said loudly and clearly, "The Leaky Cauldron!" and disappeared.

"Don't stick out any hands," Zaine advised as Jeremy took some Floo powder to go next. "You'll scrape 'em."

Jeremy shook nervously as he threw the powder into the fireplace and stepped inside.

"The Leaky Cauldron!"

Jeremy vanished, too, and Zaine urged Rachel forward. She walked toward him with her trunk and Remo's cage, pinched some powder between her forefinger and thumb, and threw it into the fireplace.

"Bye Mum, bye Dad—" Rachel hugged her parents goodbye, kissed Alexis' forehead, and gulped, dragging her trunk and Remo's cage with her into the green fire. Surprisingly, it didn't burn her.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" Rachel bellowed.

Rachel spun around, clutching tightly onto her trunk and Remo's cage, feeling sick as she went. She saw many living rooms and kitchens flashing by and it felt like it went on forever until she stumbled out of a fireplace, dropping her trunk on the wooden floor of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Rachel!" squeaked Hermione's voice, and the bushy-haired, tan girl ran forward, hugging Rachel with a grin on her face.

Behind Hermione stood Ron, looking incredibly freckly, talking to Jeremy.

Lukas shot out of the fire next, with his trunk and his owl Adam hooting wildly in his cage, and last came Zaine.

Mrs. Weasley, a short, plump woman, greeted the Haneys and the Shaws happily before suggesting they go out to get their books and supplies. Rachel and Lukas split up, Lukas heading out with Zaine, Amy, and Jeremy, while Hermione and Ron dragged Rachel to Tom, the innkeeper at the Leaky Cauldron.

"Have you seen Harry here?" said Ron.

"Sorry, haven't," said Tom, drying off a glass. "He left to Diagon Alley this morning."

They thanked Tom and headed out, deciding to get their things and seeing if they could spot Harry on the way there. They went to Flourish and Blotts first, and Rachel cringed at a cage of books that seemed to be tearing each other apart.

They got their books from the man behind the counter, who seemed very distressed when they told him they needed three copies of the Monstrous Book of Monsters, which turned out to be the books in the cage in the display. He offered to put Spellotape around the books to keep them from biting, and they thankfully said yes. Rachel and Ron only carried one bag of books, whereas Hermione had three bulging bags.

"Madam Malkin's next?" said Ron, pointing at the robe shop across the street, and they hurried through the bustling crowd into the shade of the store, where Ron bought new robes for his were too short, and Rachel got a new Gryffindor tie, for her old one was getting worn out.

They then went to get potions supplies and Ron's wand, which was a fourteen-inch willow wand with a unicorn hair core. He proudly talked about it as they went to get more parchment and ink and quills, and Ron and Rachel lingered by Quality Quidditch Supplies, ogling at the Firebolt, the best broom ever made, until Hermione suggested getting some ice cream to fight the summer heat.

They had just gotten their ice cream and had sat down outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor when Ron suddenly perked up.

"Harry! HARRY!"

Rachel and Hermione looked up, spotting Harry's messy hair, and the three of them frantically waved their arms to get his attention.

"Finally!" said Ron, grinning at Harry as he sat down. "We went to the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd left, and we went to Flourish and Blotts, and Madam Malkin's, and—"

"I got all my school stuff last week," Harry explained. "And how come you knew I'm staying at the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Dad," said Ron simply.

"Zaine and Amy told Lukas and I," said Rachel.

"Did you really blow up your aunt, Harry?" said Hermione in a very serious voice.

"I didn't mean to," said Harry while Ron and Rachel roared with laughter. "I just—lost control."

"It's not funny, Ron, Rachel," said Hermione sharply. "Honestly, I'm amazed Harry wasn't expelled."

"So am I," admitted Harry. "Forget expelled, I thought I was going to be arrested." He looked at Ron. "Your dad doesn't know why Fudge let me off, does he?"

"Probably 'cause it's you, isn't it?" shrugged Ron, still chuckling, while Rachel turned back to her ice cream. "Famous Harry Potter and all that. I'd hate to see what the Ministry'd do to me if I blew up an aunt. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up first, because Mum would've killed me. Anyway, you can ask Dad yourself this evening. We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too! So you can come to King's Cross with us tomorrow! Rachel and Hermione's there as well!"

Hermione nodded, beaming. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning."

"Lukas and I went with the Floo network," said Rachel. "Oh! Jeremy got his letter! He's going to start his first year."

"Excellent! That's great for him," said Harry to Rachel. "So, have you got all your new books and stuff?"

"Look at this," said Ron, pulling the box with his new wand out of a bag and opening it. "Brand-new wand. Fourteen inches, willow, containing one unicorn tail-hair. And we've got all our books—" He pointed at the large bag under his chair. "What about those Monster Books, eh? The assistant nearly cried when we said we wanted three."

"What's all that, Hermione?" Harry asked, pointing at Hermione's bulging bags.

"Well, I'm taking more new subjects than you, aren't I?" said Hermione. "Those are my books for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Study of Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies—"

"What are you doing Muggle Studies for?" said Ron, rolling his eyes at Harry and Rachel. "You're Muggle-born! Your mum and dad are Muggles! Rachel and Lukas are Muggle-born! You already know all about Muggles!"

"But it'll be fascinating to study them from the wizarding point of view," said Hermione earnestly.

"Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year, Hermione?" asked Harry, while Ron sniggered and Rachel snorted into her ice cream. Hermione ignored them.

"I've still got ten Galleons," she said, checking her purse. "It's my birthday in September, and Mum and Dad gave me some money to get myself an early birthday present."

"How about a nice book?" said Ron innocently.

"No, I don't think so," said Hermione composedly, not getting the joke while Rachel giggled. "I really want an owl. I mean, Harry's got Hedwig, Lukas has got Adam, and you've got Errol—"

"I haven't," said Ron. "Errol's a family owl. All I've got is Scabbers." He pulled his pet rat out of his pocket. "And I want to get him checked over," he added, placing Scabbers on the table in front of them. "I don't think Egypt agreed with him."

Scabbers looked thin, and his whiskers were drooping.

"There's a magical creature shop just over there," said Harry, pointing across the street. "You could see if they've got anything for Scabbers, and Hermione can get her owl."

So they paid for their ice cream and crossed the street to the Magical Menagerie.

The last time Rachel was in the Magical Menagerie was in her first year to get Remo while Lukas got Adam. The walls were covered with cages, in which were all types of animals, and at the counter stood a wizard with a double-ended newt. Rachel looked at all the cats, wondering if she would be able to get away with getting another one before deciding against it, for her parents had only allowed Jeremy to buy a pet this summer.

The double-ended newt wizard left, and Ron approached the counter.

"It's my rat," he told the witch. "He's been a bit off-colour ever since I brought him back from Egypt."

"Bang him on the counter," said the witch, pulling a pair of heavy black spectacles out of her pocket.

Ron lifted Scabbers out of his inside pocket and placed him on the counter. He didn't look too healthy, at all, and Rachel wondered what was wrong with him.

"Hm," said the witch, picking up Scabbers. "How old is this rat?"

"Dunno," said Ron. "Quite old. He used to belong to my brother."

"What powers does he have?" said the witch, examining Scabbers closely.

"Er—" Rachel doubted Scabbers ever showed any powers. The witch's eyes moved from Scabbers's tattered left ear to his front paw, which had a toe missing, and tutted loudly.

"He's been through the mill, this one," she said.

"He was like that when Percy gave him to me," said Ron defensively.

"An ordinary common or garden rat like this can't be expected to live longer than three years or so," said the witch. "Now, if you were looking for something a bit more hard-wearing, you might like one of these—"

She indicated a cage filled with black rats that stood on the counter, who promptly started skipping with their tails. Ron muttered, "Show-offs."

"Well, if you don't want a replacement, you can try this rat tonic," said the witch, reaching under the counter and bringing out a small red bottle.

"Okay," said Ron. "How much—OUCH!"

Rachel shrieked and ducked as something huge and orange came roaring from the top of the highest cage and landed on Ron's head before propelling itself at Scabbers, spitting madly.

"NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!" cried the witch, but Scabbers shot from between her hands, landed splay-legged on the floor, and then made a run for the door.

"Scabbers!" Ron shouted, racing out of the shop after him; Harry followed him, and Hermione and Rachel were left in the Magical Menagerie.

"He's cute," said Hermione, leaning down to pet the cat, who seemed a lot more calm now that Scabbers was gone. His ginger fur was thick and fluffy, its face grumpy and oddly squashed.

"Nobody wants him," said the witch, sighing. "He's been here for ages."

"I'll take him," said Hermione. "How much is he?"

"Eight galleons will do," said the witch, and Rachel watched with wide eyes as Hermione handed her the money and bought a few treats, too.

Rachel picked up Ron's rat tonic, which he forgot, and when they stepped outside, Harry and Ron were making their way back to the Magical Menagerie.

"You bought that monster?" said Ron when he saw Crookshanks.

"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" said Hermione, glowing, as Crookshanks purred in her arms.

"Hermione, that thing nearly scalped me!" said Ron.

"He didn't mean to, did you, Crookshanks?" said Hermione.

"And what about Scabbers?" said Ron, pointing at the lump in his chest pocket. "He needs rest and relaxation! How's he going to get it with that thing around?"

"That reminds me, you forgot your rat tonic," said Rachel, handing the small red bottle to Ron.

"And stop worrying, Crookshanks will be sleeping in my dormitory and Scabbers in yours, what's the problem?" Hermione scoffed.

"There's going to be a problem if Remo doesn't like him!" said Rachel. "Remo was there first!"

Hermione went on, ignoring Rachel.

"Poor Crookshanks, that witch said he'd been in there for ages; no one wanted him."

"I wonder why," said Ron sarcastically as they set off toward the Leaky Cauldron.

They found Mr. Weasley sitting in the bar, reading the Daily Prophet.

"Harry!" he said, smiling as he looked up. "How are you?"

"Fine, thanks," said Harry as he, Ron, Hermione, and Rachel joined Mr. Weasley with all their shopping.

Mr. Weasley put down his paper.

"They still haven't caught him, then?" Harry asked, and Rachel looked over, seeing Sirius Black's face on the page.

"No," said Mr. Weasley, looking extremely grave. "They've pulled us all off our regular jobs at the Ministry to try and find him, but no luck so far."

"Would we get a reward if we caught him?" asked Ron. "It'd be good to get some more money—"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ron," said Mr. Weasley, looking very strained. "Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old wizard. It's the Azkaban guards who'll get him back, you mark my words."

At that moment Mrs. Weasley entered the bar, laden with shopping bags and followed by the twins, Fred and George, who were about to start their fifth year at Hogwarts; the newly elected Head Boy, Percy; and the Weasleys' youngest child and only girl, Ginny.

At seeing Harry, Ginny went very red and muttered "hello" without looking at Harry. Percy held out his hand solemnly and said, "Harry. How nice to see you. You too, Rachel."

"Hello, Percy," said Harry.

"Afternoon," said Rachel.

"I hope you're well?" said Percy pompously, now shaking Rachel's hand.

"Very well, thanks—"

"Harry! Rachel!" said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old friends—"

"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn as Fred dramatically kissed the back of Rachel's hand, making her blush. "Absolutely spiffing."

Percy scowled.

"That's enough, now," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Mum!" said Fred as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand too. "How really corking to see you—"

"I said, that's enough," said Mrs. Weasley, depositing her shopping in an empty chair. "Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!" she said, swelling with pride.

"And last," Fred muttered under his breath, and Rachel choked on her giggles.

"I don't doubt that," said Mrs. Weasley, frowning suddenly. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."

"What do we want to be prefects for?" said George, looking revolted at the very idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life."

Ginny giggled.

"You want to set a better example for your sister!" snapped Mrs. Weasley.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner…"

He disappeared and George heaved a sigh as Lukas entered the inn again with Zaine, Amy, and Jeremy, who was talking excitedly about his new wand (cedarwood and dragon heartstring core, twelve and a half inches).

"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," George told Harry and Rachel. "But Mum spotted us."

Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlour, and the seven Weasleys, the three Haneys, the two Shaws, Harry, and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said Mr. Weasley.

Everyone looked up at him.

"Why?" said Percy curiously.

"It's because of you, Perce," said George seriously. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them—"

"—for Humongous Bighead," said Fred.

Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding.

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," said Mr. Weasley, "—and as I work there, they're doing me a favour—"

His voice was casual, but his ears turned red.

"Good thing, too," said Mrs. Weasley briskly. "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground… You are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed."

"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mrs. Weasley called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy and Rachel giggled.

After dinner, everyone felt very full and sleepy. One by one they made their way upstairs to their rooms to check their things for the next day. Rachel shared a room with Hermione, while Amy went to Ginny's room. Hermione seemed immensely happy, but Rachel was very sleepy and wanted to head to bed quickly, turning to her trunk and shoving her books and supplies in it messily.

"Oh, dear," groaned Hermione, who was trying to brush her bushy hair. From a room down the hall, Rachel could hear Ron and Percy shouting.

"It was here, on the bedside table, I took it off for polishing—"

"I haven't touched it, all right?"

There was a pause in which Rachel looked at Hermione with raised eyebrows.

"You're not going anywhere till you've found my badge!"

"God, he's going to be so annoying this year," groaned Rachel, finding her pyjamas and getting out of the jeans and shirt she'd been wearing.

Hermione didn't answer. She'd gone into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Rachel did the same and hit her pillow, ready for a long night of sleep.