Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 14: Flourish and Blotts

Year 2 at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, legs swinging over the edge, Shaye glanced at her packed trunk and sleeping owl in the corner of the room before turning her attention back to what she had been focusing on all morning; or rather, all summer.

From where she was sitting, Shaye was able to see the door to her sister's bedroom across the hall. It was closed, as always, but a lock had also been installed by her parents after she had returned from her first year at Hogwarts.

Elise and Dorian Frazier had been all too happy to hear about the adventures their daughter had experienced—with a few of the more worrying details left out, of course—and the knowledge she had gained. When she started bringing her sister into conversation, however, and mentioning You-Know-Who in the same breath, they were less than thrilled.

Lorelei Frazier had been a taboo subject in the Frazier household—and family as a whole—ever since she had gone missing and the rumours had started flying. When Shaye used to ask questions about her sister, it seemed harmless because that's all they were: questions. Now, however, it was fewer questions and more statements and theories. 

Shaye was now devoted to finding out what had really happened to her sister and the Frazier family vehemently disapproved. 

All summer long Shaye had been thinking about searching through her sister's room; dreaming about all the clues she would find. But then the lock had been placed on the door and her dreams hidden away with it. 

Shaye knew she could break in easily enough thanks to a certain spell she had learned from Hermione the previous year, but she also knew that once the deed was done, her parents would find out and punishment would soon follow. 

So, Shaye had to be smart about this. She needed to break in as close to her departure for Hogwarts as possible. That way, before her parents had the chance to find out, she would already be gone—which would hopefully give them a few months to calm down a little.

Before Shaye had the chance to plot too much, however, she heard her parents calling her name from downstairs. As thrilling as daydreaming about the hidden contents of the locked room was, Shaye and her family were heading to Diagon Ally that day for some last-minute shopping and there was nothing—not even the endless mysterious possibilities that awaited her in Lorelei's room —that could stop her from getting to see her friends again.

Shaye had been writing to Harry, Ron, and Hermione all summer long. Harry never wrote back, which worried Shaye greatly, and Ron only answered occasionally. Hermione's letters, on the other hand, were like clockwork. Every Monday morning Shaye would send her owl Erwin out with a letter for Hermione and precisely three hours later he would return with a response letter from her.

Eager to see each other again, the friends had managed to set up a date and time to all head to Diagon Alley so they could meet up before school started. The only person who had been left out of the loop was Harry, but Shaye supposed that was his fault since he never wrote back.

Grabbing her sweater, Shaye rushed out of her room and down the stairs—managing one last quick peek in the locked door's direction—before joining her parents. 

Elise and Dorian Frazier were very excited to meet their daughter's friends. Before Shaye had gone to Hogwarts, all of her friends had been neighbourhood children who, of course, were muggles—so magic had to be kept on the down-low. And Lorelei had never really had many friends, or if she did, she never introduced them to anyone in the family—not even Hattie, who Shaye only knew about from stories and pictures.

With everyone ready to go, the family of three exited the house, Elise casting a few last-minute cleaning spells so the home would be spotless when they returned.