Harry Potter and His Shadows (ADOPTED STORY ON HIATUS)

chapter 13

Harry walked slightly behind the group, ignoring Ron, Hermione and Ginny's attempts to draw him into conversation. George and Fred were walking on either side of him, as a sort of silent support, which he appreciated. Molly, Arthur and Remus were at the front of them all, with a disillusioned Mad-Eye and Tonks following from behind. Apparently this was all for his protection, and it was rather annoying honestly. They collected their school supplies from each shop, the entire visit being rather dull. "Alright children, why don't you all go to Sugarplum's and get yourself some sweets?" Ron cheered, and the girls laughed at him, following the red head into the shop. Harry went to follow him but was distracted by someone calling his name. "Harry!" He turned to see the twins gesturing him over, to where they stood before an empty shop. "What's going on?" The twins grinned at him, grabbing his shoulders and moving him to stand directly in front of the tall building. "Imagine this- purple walls- orange windows- and a- large sign- Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes!" They bowed in front of him, taking off their imaginary hats as he laughed at their antics. Grinning he nodded at them, swept up in their excitement. "It's about time you guys went professional. You make pranks into an art!" The twins looked genuinely touched at his words, faces covered in big smiles. They threw their arms around him, practically squeezing the life out of him. A traditional Weasley hug. Harry looked at the building again imagination running wild. "You know what would be awesome?" He pointed to the top of the large windows with a pensive expression. "You could extend these windows out and build a giant statue of one of you into it. An arm out the side, and you at the top, lifting up a hat!" The twins laughed, grabbing each other and jumping up and down. "Yes that's- brilliant! And we-could put- a rabbit- under the hat!" Their excitement faded quickly into small frowns.

"It would have to wait though. We're not even sure if we could afford the building yet, let alone anything extravagant." George nodded, crossing his arms. "Yeah, we've been selling loads of fizzing fireworks and skiving snack-boxes, but it might not be enough." Harry frowned, upset that his friends might not be able to follow their dreams. He'd seen their faces everytime Ron or Molly told them to stop messing around, or compared them to the other Weasley brothers. It wasn't fair! They deserved this. "I'll loan you some money. In fact, keep it, it's a gift." The twins looked at him in shock. "Are you serious?" They asked simultaneously, and Harry smiled at them. "Of course. I know you guys can pull this off, and it's about time everyone saw how clever and talented you guys are! Some of the stuff you've made take real genius. Use it!" They looked at each other for a moment, as if having a silent conversation. The next thing Harry knew, he was tumbling to the ground with two gingers in a pile on top of him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He huffed out a laugh, slightly winded and sat up when they finally got off of him. "We promise you won't regret this- yeah we'll pay you back as soon as we earn it up!" Harry stood and elbowed them. "You'll do no such thing! I'll give you the thousand galleons I got from the triwizard cup. I don't really want it anyway." The twins fell solemn at that and nodded. "Very well- favourable benefactor- we insist- you become- our partner- at least." Surprised, Harry looked at the two of them, and smiled. "Very well, and what would this partnership entail, gentlemen?" They spent the next twenty minutes discussing shares and decor before everything was agreed and settled. "Perfect. Once we have the building, we'll send you a letter and draw up a proper contract."

Harry nodded, still smiling and looking at the building, proud of his friends. "Wait, does this mean you're leaving Hogwarts?" The twins nodded, leaning against each other and looking at Harry. "Yeah, you know us Harry- we might not be a stupid as everyone thinks- but exams really aren't our thing." Harry nodded, it was true. The pair were genius' but they really hated anything that required them being still for more than a couple of minutes. This would be good for them. "That's too bad, I'll miss you guys. Then again, Hogwarts probably isn't a great place to be anymore." The twins nodded, frowning. They'd heard the adults talking, they had never seen their parents so worried before. They seemed to expect Death Eater attacks constantly. "Have you told your mum yet?" Instantly the twins paled, panic in their eyes, and Harry laughed slightly. "You can't say anything Harry! She'll kill us!" He nodded, pretending to be serious and placed a hand over his heart. "I swear, I won't say a word!" The two mock glared at him before laughing and looking back up at the shop. Harry smiled at his friends, glad that something good was happening. He turned around to see if the the others were done yet, only to see a blue streak of light speeding towards them. "Duck!" He grabbed his friends, pulling them to ground and jumped when the shattering of glass sounded above them. Screams rose up through the streets, people running everywhere trying to escape. He rolled over to the side to avoid getting crushed by the crowd, and ducked into the shop doorway with the twins. "What's going on?" Harry didn't answer George, peering around to see the Order and aurors fighting a large group of wizards in some very familiar masks. "Death Eaters." Fred and George looked at each other, and grabbed Harry's wrist, trying to pull him over to where Molly and Arthur had been.