star shopping ✰ d.m.

CHAPTER TEN

Not long after the incident with Crookshanks and the Extendable Ear, Molly came up to tell them that dinner was ready.

"Well, we'll be eating down in the kitchen," she told them as they descended the staircase.

"Really? I thought we would be eating in the attic, personally," Arabella said. She smiled when she heard Ron, Ginny, Fraser, and Duncan snigger.

Molly chose to ignore her remark and acted like she hadn't heard it. Her calm and warm demeanor quickly changed, however, when Fred and George Apparated on either side of her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Just because you're allowed to use magic now does not mean you have to whip your wands out for everything!" Molly yelled after the twins as they ran to the kitchen.

"I can't wait to become of age," Arabella mused as she entered the kitchen after her older brothers.

During dinner, Ginny and Arabella sat by Tonks at the dinner table as she shared stories from her Hogwarts years and showed off her metamorphmagus abilities. As the woman contorted her face into a duck's beak, the two girls found themselves unable to breathe, they were laughing so hard.

When they had finally calmed down, Arabella asked her, "So you were in the same year as my brother Charlie in school? Were you two friends?"

"Not really. Just acquaintances," Tonks said. "We didn't really hang out with the same people, see. He was in Gryffindor, I was in Hufflepuff. We did have Herbology together, though, so I knew him well enough. He was funny, I'll give him that, and from what I can tell, that runs in the family."

"Not in all of us," Ginny muttered, keeping Percy in mind.

Tonks continued. "He talked about dragons a lot. Say, what did he ever end up doing?"

"He's a dragonologist in Romania. Works at a sanctuary," Arabella informed her. "Lucky git."

"You wanna do the same thing?"

"Not necessarily, but it sounds cool. He seems really happy whenever he talks about it. I hope whatever I end up doing, I like it as much as he likes his job."

The conversation stopped there, for the kitchen had fallen silent. They looked to the end of the table, where Harry, Lupin, Arthur, Faustus, and Sirius sat with Moody standing nearby. Kingsley Shacklebolt gave Harry a copy of the Daily Prophet. Arabella tried to see what was on it, but given how far away she was from him, she couldn't.

"He's been attacking Dumbledore as well," Sirius said to Harry after a few moments. "Fudge is using all his power, including his influence at the Daily Prophet, to smear anyone who claims the Dark Lord has returned."

"Why?" Harry questioned.

"The minister thinks Dumbledore's after his job," Lupin told him.

"But that's insane. No one in their right mind could believe that Dumbledore-"

"Exactly the point. Fudge isn't in his right mind. It's been twisted and warped by fear."

"I think Fudge's mind has always been twisted, but maybe that's just me," David spoke up.

"Now, fear makes people do terrible things, Harry. The last time Voldemort gained power, he almost destroyed everything we hold most dear. Now he's returned, and I'm afraid the minister will do almost anything to avoid facing the terrifying truth."