Reality Bites Harry Potter

We're legal, baby!!!

The first time Mr. and Mrs. Weasley heard about me being a Slytherin was really awkward and I'll admit, I was a bit worried about how they'd treat me. I wasn't too worried about Mr. Weasley. He's really nice and treats others the way he wants to be treated. Now, Mrs. Weasley on the other hand, I hate to say it but she's a bit of a gossiper. Plus, she believes anything and everything she reads in the Prophet. Mr. Weasley didn't treat me any differently, but Mrs. Weasley treated me a bit colder than she did before she knew. As far as I can tell, it's pissing Shay off and I can only assume Fred has had to calm her down a lot. I mean it honestly doesn't hurt my feelings because despite what I read in those books, I don't really know Mrs. Weasley that well. And as far as I'm concerned, she'll eventually regret being so cold to me. I don't know about Shay, but I plan to save Fred. I'm sure she's forgotten since it's pretty much been two years since we've read those books. Plus, she's caught up in her own life and issues. I won't remind her though. I just want her to live a happy life. No matter what comes our way, I'll do whatever it takes to protect her.

Ginny doesn't seem to care that I'm in Slytherin. Actually, she told me that she thought it was cool. Other than the awkwardness, everything seems to be going fine. Also now that Harry is here, Mrs. Weasley decided to celebrate his birthday. It was great because she made a cake for him and he wasn't expecting it. That's kind of sad, but knowing how his aunt and uncle are I'm not surprised. She celebrated Shay and I's birthdays too. We weren't expecting it because this is really the first time we've spent so much time with her, but it was a pleasant surprise for us. Hm, I should get an owl when we go to Diagon Alley. I want to write Theo, Blaise, and Pansy. Minnie gave me a copy of her vault key so we can get some money for school stuff. I wonder if it's okay for me to get an owl. Maybe I'll ask when Shay and I go see Minnie before we go to Diagon Alley. Plus, Minnie wants to check on how far we've come with our Animagus forms. It's definitely become easier to return to my human form. Of course Shay and I can't really practice much being here at the Weasleys. I did sneak out a few times to practice during the night. I didn't do it a lot because everyone noticed how tired I was the next day. "When are we going to see Minnie?" Shay asked me one afternoon. I had just finished my holiday work.

"Anytime. She did say that if we do, then we should go at least a week or so before the new term starts." I said thoughtfully. Shay giggled. "What?"

"You said term instead of semester." She said grinning.

"Well, we've been around English speaking people for three years now. It's bound to rub off on us at some point." I said shrugging. "It's about two weeks before school starts, so I'm sure she won't mind if we go today."

"Okay, I'll let Mrs. Weasley know!" Shay said running out of the room. Better her than me, I guess. She came back five minutes later. "She said we could use the Floo Network."

"Ooh, I almost forgot about that." I said kind of excited. I mean, I remember how Harry described it in the book. So I'm hoping I don't get nauseous.

"Me too! Let's go!" Shay said grabbing my hand and dragging me downstairs. "She said she talked to Minnie and got everything set up!"

"Good." I said once we stepped into the kitchen.

"It's ready to go, girls." Mrs. Weasley said smiling.

"I'll go first!" Shay said excitedly. She grabbed the Floo powder and threw it into the fireplace. The green flames looked very pretty up close. Shay stepped in and said Minnie's address and then she was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, Pyper dear." Mrs. Weasley said, stopping me. "I'm terribly sorry for treating you the way I did after learning what house you're in. After spending some time with you, I realized how nice and good you are to my children. I hope you can forgive me, dear."  She sounded genuinely sincere. I smiled.

"I forgive you, Mrs. Weasley. I know some of the stuff students from my house has said and done. I plan to change that and show to everyone that there's only a small group of Slytherins that are like that." I said sound determined and confident. She smiled looking relieved.

"Well, I hope that will happen. I'll see you girls when you get back." She said before I threw the Floo powder in the fireplace.

"Okay, we'll be back soon!" I said before stepping into the fireplace and saying Minnie's address. The spinning sensation was hard to get used to, but by the time I tried to it was already over. I stepped out of the fireplace and saw Shay and Minnie waiting for me.

"What took you so long?" Shay asked me.

"Mrs. Weasley apologized." I said shrugging.

"She did?" Shay asked surprised.

"What are you two talking about?" Minnie asked looking confused.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley found out that I'm in Slytherin. So Mrs. Weasley treated me a little coldly. But just before I got here, she stopped me and apologized to me." I explained to her.

"That's good." Minnie said smiling. "Have you two had lunch yet?"

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley made a lot." Shay said rubbing her stomach.

"Good. I would like to check to see how far along you are with your transformations." She said looking at the two of us. "Shay, you're first." Shay nodded and concentrated. She transformed into her cute ginger kitten self. "Now change back, please." She changed back effortlessly and she looked very proud of her self. "Good job. Now, it's your turn Pyper." I nodded and closed my eyes in concentration. I pictured myself as my animagus form and the next thing I know, I'm closer to the ground than I was previously.

"Aw, you look so cute when you look like a husky!" Shay said smiling. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Go ahead and change back, Pyper." Minnie said looking amused. I imagined my human self and effortlessly changed back. "Good job to the both of you. I think we can go get you registered now."

"Really?" Shay and I asked excitedly.

"You two have been around those twins for too long." She muttered shaking her head. "But yes. We can go now, if you'd like. You can think of that as your birthday presents from me."

"Yay!" Shay said jumping up and down.

"Just let me go get ready." She said before going upstairs.

"This is so exciting!" Shay said grinning.

"I know!" I said eagerly. "I can't wait!" I also need to remember to ask if it's okay for me to get an owl. I hope she won't mind. She came back and soon we were inside the Ministry. We went on the elevator and went to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Minnie talked with a woman and then we were asked to stand in a squared off area and to transform long enough for them to find our identifying mark. We took turns and after an hour or so, we left the Ministry registered as Animagi. "Oh, Minnie, I have a question." Minnie gave me a weird look.

"Go ahead." She said shaking her head.

"Is it okay if I get an owl while we're in Diagon Alley?" I asked pleadingly. I don't ask for much, so I'm hoping she says yes.

"Of course, I don't mind. But you have the responsibility to take care of it." She said giving me a stern look.

"Thank you!" I said hugging her.

"You're very welcome." She said hugging me back. We ended up staying for dinner and then we went back to the Weasleys. Shay asked me if the name Sammy meant anything to me but I didn't know any Sammy. I wonder if it's someone who's connected to our past. Shay and I are going to be thinking about that a lot. We told Mrs. Weasley that we already had dinner and then we decided to get ready for bed. We were exhausted. Maybe we'll tell everyone about us being Animagi tomorrow if they don't already find out through Mr. Weasley.