A number of days later, Sidra was still fuming, though she was somewhat cheered by the presence of members of the Weasley clan at a small holiday gathering at the Potter home. Ron was splitting his attention between her and the kitchen counter, which had been lain with sweets and snacks of all kinds. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting in the living room with Mr. and Mrs. Potter. Ginny Weasley had gone upstairs to hang out with Rose.
"Ron is interested in joining the auror corps," Mrs. Weasley was telling James and Lily as Mr. Weasley looked on quietly. "My father can of course put in a good word with Director Crouch, but Ron will have to pass his potion NEWT, among others."
James nodded encouragingly, smiling at Ron. "You've got a good mind for strategy, Ron. I think you'd do well as an auror, though I can't imagine potions is very pleasant."
"You can say that again," Ron said, holding a half-eaten cookie. "Professor Snape is a real git."
James looked like he wanted to say something in agreement, but Lily's hand on his arm stopped him. Observing that, Sidra smirked, knowing just how much her father detested Severus Snape and just how much her mother supported the man. Personally, Sidra was of the opinion that Snape was merely silly. Heprowls around sneering, fluttering his cape like abat, Sidra thought. How can anybody take that man seriously ?
The conversation about Mrs. Weasley's ambitions for Ron continued with scant participation by Ron despite Mr. Potter's attempts to include the teenager. However, Sidra paid even less attention. Something else had caught her eye-Leo Black had just sneaked down from upstairs and had slipped through the kitchen and down into the basement, avoiding the attention of nearly everyone in the house. His presence in the Potter home alone was not suspicious, but his sneaky behavior was. Sidra stood, mumbled a generic excuse, and left the living room.
.....
"Are you coming or not?" Rose asked Ginny Weasley. Waiting for the youngest Weasley to answer, she rummaged through her chest of drawers, searching for the wand holster her father had given her for Christmas during the year she had participated in the Hogwarts dueling club.
"Hasn't it occurred to you that meeting with some mysterious person in an empty house in the middle of the night is dangerous?" Ginny asked.
"She's not all that mysterious," Rose defended. "We've met her once."
"Obviously she was in disguise-perhaps even using Polyjuice," Ginny pointed out.
Rose finally found the wand holster, withdrew it from the drawer, and strapped it to her arm. "No point in using Polyjuice to impersonate a complete stranger," Rose said.
Leo entered the room, carrying a box.
"Did you find them?" Rose asked.
"I think so," Leo said, setting the box down on Rose's bed and opening it. He pulled out a number of old robes. "These should do," he said. He picked out two robes and laid them across the bed. "Have you decided to come?" Leo asked, looking at Ginny inquiringly.
"I'm not sure." Ginny said. "What you two are doing could be really dangerous."
Leo shrugged. "We have considered the danger. However, if you think about it, if this witch wanted to do any of us harm, she would have done it by now. Kreacher could have done serious damage without anyone identifying him as the culprit. Rose and I have thought this out extensively."
"Well, I guess I'll come," Ginny decided, giving in to her curiosity and her friends' friendly peer pressure.
"Good," Leo smiled, picking out another robe and setting it on the bed.
.....
"I'm beginning to lose my faith in you two," Ginny grumbled as she, Leo, and Rose crept across the dimly lit street to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. "If you had planned this excursion out so well, you would have realized that Leo is the only one old enough to apparate and that it takes him two trips to get everyone anywhere."
"That's only a very minor flaw," Rose whispered. "Everything else will work out great."
"Except for if we have to flee and Leo can only take you," Ginny retorted.
"We thought of that," Rose replied, handing Ginny a sock. "It's a portkey. The activation word is Gryffindor's first name."
Ginny looked at the sock and then stuffed it in her pocket. "How did you get permission to make a portkey?"
"Dad keeps a supply ready for whenever we go on outings," Rose said. "They don't solve everything because Death Eaters can put up anti-portkey wards, but they are better than nothing. That brings us to the plan. We do not want Lady Black to know that we brought anybody else if possible. Once we slip into the house, we want you to duck into another room or find some way to separate yourself from us. Try to observe the meeting, but stay out of sight. If all goes well, meet us out front, and we will go home together. If something goes bad, get out of there as soon as you can and bring help."
"It sure would be nice if I had some way to disguise myself," Ginny said.
"I know," Leo whispered as the trio stared up at the front of the brownstone that was 12 Grimmauld Place, "but this is the best we can do."
They walked up the steps and put their handle to the doorknob. The door proved to be unlocked, and they walked into the Black family's ancient house, shutting the door behind them. Inside, it was dark save for light afforded from the moon and street lamps. Though the house was well maintained, it still felt as if it had been abandoned for a long time.
....
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