Harry Potter fanfic--Student Teacher at Hogwarts
by Terri Wells

Chapter Eight - Unexpected Meetings

July 4, 2001 Afternoon

The two women quickly followed the twins up about three blocks, around two corners, and down an alley. Terri barely caught a glimpse of an old wooden sign that said "Knockturn Alley" outside a store named "Eternal Dreams." Candles in the shape of skulls, demons, and fierce animals stood displayed in the dusty window. A white sign in red dripping calligraphy near the candles said "For the night they'll never forget."

"Wicked," whispered George.

"Yeah," agreed Fred.

"Ahem." The boys started, and turned around to face Terri. "You said this was a shortcut to Flourish and Botts?"

"Oh, right." Fred shook himself. "Er, it's been a while since we've been this way -- new stores opening and all. Sorry." He set off down the alley, determination in his stride...while his head turned every which way. George followed, also looking everywhere.

Terri wiped one finger through the dust on the window. "New stores, huh?" she whispered to Deidre, showing her a dirty finger.

Deidre looked at the finger, the shop, and the slowly retreating backs of the twins. "I don't like this," she whispered back.

"Me either." Terri took a deep breath. "Okay. Let's catch up to our guides, shall we?" As they hurried forward, she added, "And act casual." Her New York instincts had begun to kick in. There were places in the big city that were perfectly safe -- and other places that could get you killed for the color of your skin. A person could escape from some of the in-between dangerous places if they acted as if they belonged there. Terri fervently hoped that their little group could pass.

The women caught up to the boys just as they had reached some sort of street vendor. The hag -- for hag she was, as Terri could now tell -- was sitting next to her peddler's cart, apparently vending food of some kind. Terri got closer...and swallowed hard. She'd thought those small, long pink objects were some sort of mini-hotdogs. Now that she could see them, she realized what they were. The fact that some still had fingernails attached was a dead give away.

"Fancy a snack?" the old hag creaked. She showed a gaptooth grin she must have thought inviting to her potential customers.

"Er, no thanks," Fred stammered.

"Um, we don't want--" George swallowed. "To spoil our lunch."

"Oh, pity," said the hag sadly. "A handful make a very nice lunch, you know." Gesturing to some fat-looking ones, she said, "Only the best for my customers -- nice and juicy." Another grin.

Terri chose that moment to place one hand firmly on the shoulder of each twin. It had the desired effect. After the boys landed (about three seconds later), she said to the hag, "That's very sweet of you, dear, but they're on a special diet."

Deidre, who had herself finally managed to recover, chimed in, "Oh yes, special diet...too rich, it spoils their complexions."

"Oh, of course." The hag snapped her fingers and frowned. "All those freckles!" She reached out a hand to brush George's cheek. He managed -- barely -- not to shrink back. "Yes, I understand how hard it can be to keep a nice complexion." She stroked her own grayish-white face. "But what's a lady to do when she has to make her own living, eh?"

"Exactly." Terri nodded, still holding the twins firmly by the shoulders. She squeezed harder when the boys, who were a good four inches taller than her, tried to shake her hands off. "Well, er, good sales to you..." And with that, she steered them past the hag, about five shops down to a store with large black spiders, snakes, lizards, and several other kinds of creepy-crawlies in its display. Ignoring the sign that said "Live Bait," she spun them around to face her. "What the BLOODY HELL do you two think you're doing!?" she whispered fiercely. The twins shifted uncomfortably on their feet and barely met her eyes.

"Er," said George.

"Um," explained Fred.

Terri folded her arms. "Look, I'm not stupid. This ISN'T the way to Flourish and Blotts. This isn't even a shortcut to Flourish and Blotts." She took a quick glance at the shops around her...and immediately thought better of it. Polly's Poisons and Perfumes...Hector's Head Shrinking While You Wait...Darrin's Dark Scrolls and Tomes...these were not places she wanted to know about. Tapping her foot angrily, she added, "First the cookies, now this. What would your mum say if she knew you'd taken us to a place like this?"

Fred looked horrified. "Don't tell mum -- I mean, it's not that she'd mind, it's that--"

"Terri." Deidre tapped her shoulder, glancing around the area herself. "Don't be too hard on them."

Terri glared at her. "Weren't you the one who said you didn't like it here?"

"And so I don't." Jerking her head in the direction of the guilty-looking twins, she added, "You were older than them before you stopped doing things just because they were forbidden."

Fred looked to Deidre and Terri, hope showing in his eyes.

"That didn't make it smart," Terri snapped, but the stiffness had gone out of her posture. She sighed. "Okay. No harm done, I won't mention it." At the twin's delighted expressions, she added, "But let's get out of here--now."

They crossed the street to walk on the side away from the hag. Terri meant to march them all back out to Diagon Alley, but a movement inside a large shop named Borgin and Burkes caught her attention. Pausing by the window, she saw the storekeeper was with a customer. A blond-haired customer dressed in back with a briefcase at his feet. A customer who looked vaguely familiar...

"Deidre," she hissed. Trying not to attract any more attention to herself, she continued, "Look in the window. Isn't that the same man who was giving the goblins hell at Gringott's this morning?"

Deidre looked. From her expression, Terri could tell that she had recognized him, too. In reaction to the women, the twins also stopped and looked -- and recognized the man.

"Lucius Malfoy!" Fred hissed. His eyes widened, and his lips curved in a wicked grin. "Let's go inside," he said, in a nearly normal voice.

"No." George put a hand firmly on his brother's shoulder. From Fred's shocked expression, Terri guessed that this might be the first time they'd disagreed on anything.

"No?" Fred asked, disbelief in his voice. "What do you mean, `No'? How can you--"

"Come on," George continued, physically pushing his brother past the shop. From his nervous glances at the window, he seemed to be hoping they wouldn't be spotted. They stopped in front of a shop just short of another alleyway, where he let Fred shake his arm out of his grip.

"George, how could you do that?! We had the perfect chance--"

"Use your head," George replied. "This is his territory, not ours. Didn't you see how much at home he looked in there? 'Sides, do you suppose he's really alone in that shop?"

This seemed to bring Fred up short. "But--Crikey, George! After what that ruddy bastard did to Ginny--!"

George rolled his eyes. "I want to take him down as badly as you do, you know that." He sighed, then looked over at Terri and Deidre. "But not yet. We need to plan this...and we need some help." He gave his brother a tight smile. "'Sides, don't you think Dad'll be interested to hear what we've seen Mr. Malfoy up to today?"

Now it was Fred's turn to roll his eyes. "Right. And how will we explain that we saw him inside Borgin and Burkes, on Knockturn Alley?"

"No problem." Terri shrugged as the twins turned to face her. "But you're going to owe me big time for this one." At their raised eyebrows, she continued, "Just tell them I was curious about it--or even that Deidre wanted to know what was down that way."

"Terri--" Deidre said warningly.

"What?" Terri held up her hands, all innocence. "Haven't you ever heard the expression `Know Thine Enemy'?" She turned back to the twins. "That ought to be justification enough. And there's been no real harm done, right?" Three heads nodded agreement, though Terri noticed Deidre's nod was a bit more hesitant. With a sigh, she checked her watch. "Right. There's hardly any morning left, folks; let's get out of here."

They almost made it past the dark alleyway before a loud BANG rent the air. The next thing Terri knew, she was entangled in thick ropes, gagged, and being pulled toward the alley. Her companions were similarly handicapped.

"Well done, lads!" said a deep voice. "Put'em against the walls and let's see what we've got."

Black-gloved hands grabbed Terri roughly and shoved her against a wall. She was standing, as well as the ropes allowed, next to Deidre, her back to a rough brick wall. The alley, which was between two stores, was roofed over; even now, at almost high noon, it remained fairly dark. It smelled, too, but she couldn't quite tell if it was coming from the alley itself or the thugs who'd grabbed her.

Four black-robed figures held them captive. Two stood well over six feet tall, and might well have been that wide at the shoulders. The other two were shorter, and not so wide, but if they were the "lads" one of their captors spoke of, they were well on their way to matching their companions in size. All four appeared to be male. Black masks covered their entire faces, except for the eyes, and black gloves covered their hands. As a stray thought, Terri wondered why they didn't keel over from sweating in those clothes.

"And what have we here?" said the thug who had already spoken. He was looking directly at Terri--staring, in fact. Though the mask hid his face, she would have bet both her wands he was leering. He ran a gloved finger over her face, then grabbed her chin and held her face close to his. "Certainly not a proper British witch, unless I miss my guess."

"Not with that awful accent," said the other tall one, talking over his shoulder while he guarded the twins with his wand. His voice was even deeper, with more gravel behind it.

"She was carrying this," said one of the shorter ones, handing over Terri's bag from Ollivanders.

Terri heard one of the twins gasp--or try to; with the gags in place, it was hard to do anything more than make mewling noises. Fred and George were propped up against the opposite wall of the alley, facing Gravel Voice. From the look on Fred's face, Terri guessed he'd recognized the voice of the shorter dark-clad figure who'd spoken.

"A bit of wand shopping?" The original speaker's tone had hardly changed from sarcastic since he'd grabbed them. "We'll likely get no money off this lot, then. Not that that's what we're after, of course." He gave Terri another look, and her skin began to crawl. Then he sighed. "Well, we can have our fun later. Make sure they don't have any other wands, lads," he said to the shorter two. The boys quickly found Fred's and George's wands; the twins struggled with their ropes, but it didn't do them any good. "Good, get them out of the way," Sarcasm Voice ordered. The boys dropped the twins' wands into the bag with the others and tossed it a bit further into the alley.

If they're not after money... Terri thought, as the horror began to catch up with her, ...then this is not a mugging. And money won't dissuade them from...whatever they want. Deidre had obviously figured this out already; she was frantically struggling with her restraints and trying to make as much noise as possible, which unfortunately wasn't much. That earned her a slap from Gravel Voice. Terri winced in sympathy. She began wiggling a bit, slowly, just to see what she could move. She considered Apparating...but even if she came back almost instantly with help, one of the four black-clad wizards could easily injure or even kill the three she left behind. Terri decided to sit tight. Lord and Lady, guide me, she thought.

Sarcasm Voice turned to face the twins. He leaned sideways against the same wall the twins were propped against, and looked them over. "Well, well, a pair of Weasleys," he said. "Does your mummy know where you are?" The two black-clad boys laughed unpleasantly.

Terri's arms were bound to her sides, but she could move her wrists...and her fingers were free. She glanced quickly to where the bag with wands had been dropped, not knowing for sure if her desperate idea would work. Never mind, she thought, I've got to concentrate...

Gravel Voice cleared his throat. "Have you got the list?"

"Of course I have the list," Sarcasm Voice snapped. He reached within his robes and pulled out a roll of parchment. Unrolling it, he began muttering to himself. "Let's see, ginseng, foxglove, cannabis--no, that's the herbal ingredients--and that's the liquid ones there--ah, here it is. `Body Parts.'" He looked at the twins for a moment, then rechecked the scroll. "`Pure heart of a pureblood witch or wizard.'" He rolled up the parchment, and gestured to Fred and George. "Right, one of them should do nicely."

The twins began struggling even harder; the two lads in black began to pummel them to make them hold still, laughing meanly all the while. Terri wasn't happy about it...but it did distract their captors from what she was doing. She'd managed to turn her wrist so that her right middle finger was pointing toward the bag. Focus...extend..."Mmphio mnd," she whispered around her gag. Just as all four of her captors were having a good laugh at the twin's predicament, one of the wands sailed out of the bag and into her hand. She wasn't quite sure which one, but as long as it worked, it didn't matter.

Just then another BANG rent the air. Her captors spun to face the mouth of the alley. Standing there was another tall figure dressed in black...with blond hair, holding a wand and putting a briefcase on the ground. Lucius Malfoy. "Let them go," he said.

"Are you mad?" demanded Sarcasm Voice. "Our master wants the pure heart of a pureblood, and here we can give him two!" He gestured to the twins, who were turning red from their efforts and looked shocked to see their enemy turn rescuer.

"And you think their hearts are pure?" Malfoy asked.

"Er, they do get into as much mischief at school as we do...maybe more," admitted one of the black-robed boys. It was a different one than the one that had spoken before. The twins did not look surprised this time; they knew this one, too, but apparently expected it after the first boy had spoken earlier.

"That wouldn't necessarily make their hearts less pure," said Sarcasm Voice.

"We know what the master meant by `pure,'" added Gravel Voice. His tone and his body language left no doubt as to the kind of "purity" intended.

"Do you?" asked Malfoy. He eyed the twins closely...and waved his wand at Fred. "Resero castimonia!" The twin was suddenly surrounded by a bright red aura. Their four captors pulled back in surprise. "Hardly a worthy potion ingredient," Malfoy muttered.

Having managed to get her wand to touch her bindings, Terri again took advantage of the distraction. "Solvo," she said...well, it actually came out "Mmph-hm," but it was good enough. She felt the ropes loosening gradually, as she'd intended.

"We'll just have to kill them, then," said Gravel Voice.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Do you ever use your brain for anything more than keeping your ears apart?" He pointed to the twins. "Those are Arthur Weasley's brats."

"He has plenty more; two more or less shouldn't make any difference," said Sarcasm Voice with a shrug. "Besides, since when have you been afraid of Arthur Weasley?"

"Never." Malfoy put enough threatening power into that one word to make Terri shiver. "Arthur Weasley is nothing to me," he continued, in the tone of voice one would use for talking about an annoying insect. "But he has friends...and the time is not yet ripe. Your master is not...tolerant of mistakes, as I'm sure you know. Find your potion ingredients elsewhere; I'll deal with these."

The two taller men grabbed the two black robed boys and Disapparated with them. By this time Terri's bonds had slipped down and off; spitting out the gag, she began waving the wand she was holding (it belonged to one of the twins, as it turned out), casting as fast as she could, with a will. "Solvo! Solvo! Solvo! Accio Bag!" This time, the restraints dissolved almost instantly. Terri caught the bag and turned to face their erstwhile savior. "Thank you," she said.

Malfoy twirled his wand thoughtfully. "You may not be thanking me, by the time I'm through," he said. "In fact, you probably won't even remember I'm here. Any of you." He raised his wand...but Terri was faster.

"Expelliarmus!" Malfoy's wand flew out of his hand; Fred caught it, and grinned wickedly. "You're underage, and we're not in peril anymore," Terri snapped. Fred's grin abruptly vanished.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Malfoy demanded. "I've just saved you from the proverbial fate worse than death, and you've taken my wand from me!"

"Only temporarily," Terri replied. "We'll give it back if you promise not to cast any Memory Charms on us."

"We will?" asked Fred. Deidre shushed him.

Malfoy folded his arms. "Make it in my interest to not cast Memory Charms on you, and I might refrain," he said.

Hmmm...a language I recognize, Terri thought. "Okay," she began. "I take it you don't want Fred and George nosing around Knockturn Alley again, right?"

"There are too many dangers here, for the careless," Malfoy said. "And the needless loss of a pureblooded wizard--even those pureblooded wizards--would be tragic."

"In more ways than one," Fred cut in, tapping Malfoy's wand on his hand.

"Shut up, Fred," said Deidre.

Terri ignored them. "If you make those two forget that they've been down Knockturn Alley...they'll want to come back. It was their idea for us to come here in the first place."

"Really?" Malfoy raised his eyebrows and looked at the twins. "There's hope for you yet," he said, in a mock-impressed voice. Fred glared at him, and kept playing-not gently-with his wand.

Terri rolled her eyes. "I thought you didn't want that."

"I don't." He looked back to Terri, then gave the twins another thoughtful glance. "I could just get rid of the memory of the alley..."

"Nope. Uh-uh. That won't work." Terri put her hands on her hips. "Nothing really bad happened to us here until then. If the twins forget how dangerous it is here, they'll want to come back." She turned to her cousins. "Isn't that right, lads?" They agreed, almost too readily. "But if you just let us go, no spells, we'll just...forget this ever happened." Fred tried to protest, but Deidre and George both silenced him.

Malfoy glared at Terri. "You drive a hard bargain," he said.

Deidre cut in then. "Of course, we could just...break your wand." Fred's wicked grin returned, as he held Malfoy's wand straight out in front of himself, and raised one leg, as if to break it over his knee.

"No! That's a family heirloom!" Malfoy exclaimed. Then, "All right. Give me my wand."

"Give me your word," said Terri.

Malfoy was understandably offended--but he acquiesced. As Terri, Fred, George, and Deidre left the alley, Terri kept watching Lucius Malfoy, her wand discreetly pointing in his direction. He left the alley and walked the other way, his back deliberately pointing toward the group. Even so, Terri did not breathe easily again until they were all back at Diagon Alley.

Terri hurried forward, then whirled to face the twins. "Don't. You. Ever. Take. Me. There. Again." she said, biting off every word. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to regain her composure. "I thought I left that sort of stuff behind when I left New York!"

"You mean...they have Dark Arts alleys in New York?" Fred asked eagerly. He took one look at Terri's face and stepped back, holding up his hands as if to ward off an explosion. "Eh, we're all right, right? I mean, er...no hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings?!" Terri asked, disbelieving. "No hard feelings?! I'm a guest in your house, and you feed me singing cookies. Then the first chance you get, you lie about knowing a `short cut,' take me to Knockturn Alley--Ooo, I should have known better with a name like that!--and we get tied up, gagged, and nearly killed! Or worse than killed." Terri shivered, still remembering the touch of Sarcasm Voice's glove on her face. She glared at Fred, and angrily stamped her foot. "And you can say `no hard feelings?!'?"

"Er, how about...we'll pay for lunch?" said George. Fred looked at his brother in surprise, seemed to think for a moment, and nodded agreement. Both twins wore pleading looks.

"You know," Deidre cut in, "lunch sounds like an excellent idea. Let's go." She grabbed Terri firmly by the arm, and gestured to the twins to lead on. Terri sputtered something about not trusting them further than she could throw them as they passed. Deidre half-dragged her. As she did, she whispered in her ear. "It's been too long since you've eaten; you're turning into a bitch."

"I've got good reason to, don't I?" Terri hissed back.

They ended up at a blank brick wall. Terri and Deidre looked at the twins in puzzlement, while Fred slapped his head. "I don't believe it! In all the excitement, we forgot to get the..." He glanced at their guests, and abruptly stopped speaking. George, from his sudden look of understanding, didn't need him to finish.

Terri did, however. "Okay," she said, hands on hips, "you forgot to get the what?"

The twins hesitated. Deidre shifted her weight on her feet, and sighed. "You'd better tell her; she'll bite your head off otherwise."

Still, the brothers hesitated a moment longer, and exchanged looks. "It was supposed to be a surprise," said George finally.

"A good surprise," added Fred.

"Honest," said George. "With what you said last night..."

"We, er, wanted to make you feel more at home," Fred finished.

"Especially since you'll be teaching here," continued George.

"And it did seem like a great way to celebrate your getting the job, too," Fred put in.

Terri's head went from Fred to George like a ping-pong ball. "Look, you two, I don't like surprises right now, so why don't you just spit it out already?!"

The twins looked down in embarassment. It was George who finally spoke. "We were...were going to pick up some fireworks," he said.

"For tonight," Fred added.

"For your Independence Day," George finished.

Terri's jaw dropped. "Really?" The twins nodded. All of the anger drained out of her body. "Oh, you two..." She reached out to hug them, then stopped herself. Right, this is England, dang it, they're not so demonstrative here, she reminded herself fiercely.

George looked startled, but Fred looked almost disappointed that she'd stopped. Just then her stomach grumbled. "Come on, let's get some food before I make an even bigger fool of myself," she said.

"Right," said Fred. He took out his wand and turned to the wall. He paused to get his bearings, then tapped three bricks. The wall opened into an archway, which led to an alley behind a building. "The Leaky Cauldron, ladies," he said, gesturing them forward. "Or, more precisely, the back door to the Leaky Cauldron."

As they entered, a shock of red hair came running towards them. "There you are!" It was Ron. "What happened to you? Mum almost had hippogriffs when she saw you `in mortal peril' on the clock! If your pointers hadn't switched to `traveling' in a hurry...she was afraid you'd been kidnapped." Terri couldn't tell if Ron was genuinely concerned about his brothers or simply excited that they'd had some sort of adventure. The latter, more likely; she thought he sounded disappointed that he hadn't had a chance to join them. "So she sent me here," Ron continued, "and she said that if you didn't show up by two o'clock, she'd be calling the Ministry of Magic to get some Aurors on the case."

"Well, we're all in one piece, so there's nothing to worry about," said Fred.

"But...what happened?" Ron persisted. Yep, Terri decided, he was definitely disappointed he hadn't been along on the adventure.

"We'll tell you over lunch," Deidre cut in. "Let's get a table."

"Absolutely," Terri agreed, as her stomach rumbled again. "After all, Fred and George are treating."

Ron gave his brothers an odd look at that, but the five soon found a table. They'd managed to beat the one o'clock rush, but just barely; a harried server took their orders and soon returned with drinks, but they had a bit of a wait before their meals arrived. In that time, Ron requested quill, ink, and parchment, and wrote a quick note reassuring his mum that his brothers were okay. Then he put his hand in his lumpy chest pocket and withdrew what looked like a tiny toy owl.

"Wow!" said Fred. "How'd you get him to hold still like that?"

"Mum cast a Stupefy spell on him so I could take him with me," Ron explained. He put the owl on the table and nudged it. "Come on, Pig, time to wake up." The bird waved its feet in the air and opened its bill a few times. "Pig, wake up," said Ron, a bit louder this time. Then, "PIG!" The owl was instantly awake and chirping--indeed, he was downright hyperactive, bouncing off the heads and shoulders of everyone at the table. Ron rolled his eyes. "Settle down, Pig, you've got a letter to deliver!" At that, Pig landed in front of Ron and held his leg out, barely able to contain himself from excitement. Ron attached the note with some twine from his pocket and sighed. "Okay, go to mum now. Get!" With a final excited squeak, the owl flew off. "Pathetic," said Ron, staring after the bird. "He's either on or he's off; he doesn't have an in-between."

"And he's usually hyper," agreed George.

"Okay," said Ron, "I've waited long enough, and I even did what Mum wanted me to; I sent her a note as soon as I found you. Now, will you tell me what happened?!"

The twins looked at each other. "You're going to have to promise not to tell Mum," Fred said.

"Er, and we'd better keep our voices down," Terri added softly. She hadn't quite added everything up yet, but the numbers she was getting were not ones for the public ledger books. George nodded his agreement.

The tale was quickly told; Ron was by turns envious, grossed out, surprised, amazed, terrified, and confused. They had to interrupt the story a few times when their server showed up with food. When they finally finished, Ron shook his head. "Guess I know why we're not supposed to go there now," he said.

"What, just so we won't run into Lucius Malfoy?" asked Fred, putting down his sandwich. "If that's it, I'd fancy a return trip. We've got a score to settle, right George?"

"At the right time," said George, making quelling gestures to his brother.

Ron stared at the twins. "Are you both nutters?!" he hissed. "Those were Deatheaters! Do you know what they could have done to you?" He nearly knocked over his drink as he leaned forward, trying to get through to his brothers.

"Yes...but I also know who they were." At Ron's surprised look, Fred continued, "When the two shorter ones spoke, I'd've bet half my trick wands it was Crabbe and Goyle."

"Which means the taller ones were probably Crabbe and Goyle Sr.," George put in. At Terri's blank look, he explained, "Crabbe and Goyle are a sort of Gruesome Twosome; they hang around with Lucius Malfoy's son at Hogwarts. They're all in the same year as Ron--"

"Idiots," muttered Ron, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"--but not the same House," George finished. "They give Malfoy the brawn, and he provides the brains...such as they are." The twin rolled his eyes. "Though he's got brains enough to be a nuisance, I'll warrant that."

"Wait a minute," said Terri. "The younger Crabbe and Goyle couldn't have been around the first time You-know-who was in power...or they were, what, one? How can they be Deatheaters?"

"Deatheaters, the next generation," Deidre groaned.

Terri groaned along with her. If their enemies were already training new recruits...this was not good news. "Dumbledore needs to know about this," Terri whispered, half to herself. If he was coordinating the response to Voldemort's return, he needed all the information they could get him.

"But not Mum. Please?" said Fred emphatically. Terri nodded absently; whether Mrs. Weasley knew about the latest mischief her son had gotten into was the least of the potential problems she saw brewing.

Ron scratched his chin. "I'm wondering about a couple of things, though. Why did Malfoy let you go? Not that I'm not glad," he added hastily. "And what was that spell he used on you, Fred?"

Fred shrugged. "Beats me. I didn't notice anything, except suddenly I was surrounded by this red glowing light for about ten seconds and everyone stepped back. What were those words he used again?...Resero...resero...catsil..."

"Resero castimonia," Terri said, and felt her cheeks grow warm. "The Resero spell family reveals things. The castimonia addition makes it...um." She sighed. How was she going to explain this? Especially after all the times her father had threatened to have Gavin use that spell on her if she returned late from a date! Damned invasive spell, that; and frankly, she was glad it wasn't well known anymore. "It reveals whether or not someone has...done certain dirty deeds, so to speak. Like a Muggle Purity test." Ron looked blank, but Fred and George actually got it, and Deidre nearly did a spit take.

"Oy, warn me before you say something like that!" she said, wiping her face. Turning to Ron, she said, "Muggle Purity tests start with questions like `Have you ever held hands with a girl?' and then ask about progressively more...intimate activities."

Ron's eyes widened. He looked at Deidre, and then at Fred. "So wait, does that mean...?"

"Halloo!" Terri's heart did an almost-familiar flip-flop as she looked up-way up-to the source of the voice. Hagrid had just entered the Leaky Cauldron, and was walking towards her. "Fancy meeting you lot here," he said, grinning. "Got some Hogwarts business with Tom, but after that I'm headed to the kennel to check on Fang. Want ter join me?" His face made it clear that he was inviting everyone at the table.

The twins had to beg off, of course, but Terri was quite willing; I just hope Fang isn't as vicious as he sounds, she thought. Deidre was at least curious, and as Hagrid strode over to the bar to speak with the owner, she asked, "What's Fang?"

"Oh, that's his pet dragon," said Fred, eyes twinkling.

"Get out--you're not serious," said Deidre, but her voice wasn't as certain as his words.

"Sure are," George agreed. "He's just a tyke--what, about twelve feet, you reckon?" he added, turning to Fred.

"Not counting the tail," Fred elaborated.

Terri and Ron were both trying to suppress laughs, and failing miserably. One look at each other, and they lost it completely. Terri still didn't know what Hagrid's Fang was--but she knew wizard law, and she knew it wasn't a dragon. Terri was glad there were hardly any patrons left in the pub, or their little group would be attracting a ton of stares.

"What?" asked Deidre, glancing from the grinning twins to her other two companions. "Look, if you're going to make fun of me, at least let me in on the joke!"

Terri pulled herself together and was about to explain, when she heard a gasp from the bar. "That's half my single malt stock!" exclaimed the wizened, bald man behind the counter. He was holding a piece of parchment while Hagrid waited on the other side of the counter. "Nevertheless..." He looked at the giant and smiled. "Albus Dumbledore's word and his coin are always good here." Giving Hagrid a suspicious look, he whispered something that Terri couldn't here.

Hagrid roared in response. "Never, Tom! This is fer...summat else. 'Sides," he added, "I'm tryin' ter cut down."

"Sure, Hagrid," said Tom, nodding. "Think you can give us a hand with it, then?"

Hagrid went with one of the servers out of Terri's sight; she figured they must have gone to a cellar. "Wonder what that was about," she mused.

Ron gave her an excited look. "We had some really large horses at Hogwarts last term; they--"

"Oh, of course!" Terri slapped her head. She remembered Hagrid mentioning the large, temperamental steeds that belonged to Madame Maxime. According to Hagrid, they were "sweet as babes once ye gave'em their Scotch. Gotta admire their taste." With a chuckle, she explained as much to Ron.

"So they must be leaving soon," Ron mused.

"And we'd better leave soon, too," said George, "or Mum really will have a hypogriff!"

"If she doesn't have our hides first," Fred put in. George handed Ron a slip of parchment and a small brown pouch that clinked. Ron looked at the list, the pouch, and George, then nodded understanding. The twins left six galleons to pay for the bill and tip, then paid Tom a sickle for some Floo Powder. Within a minute, they'd both disappeared through the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace.

"I wish I knew where their money was coming from," Ron muttered.

"So," said Terri, "what is Fang really?" She asked the question as much to change the subject as out of genuine curiosity. "I know it can't be a dragon; they've been outlawed as pets for I don't know how many centuries."

"That doesn't always stop Hagrid," Ron admitted. He added hurriedly, "Fang is a huge dog. HUGE." He spread his long arms apart for emphasis. "He's a boarhound, and he thinks he's still a puppy."

Just then Hagrid reappeared. "That's that, then," he said, with a nod and a wave to Tom. Turning to Terri's table, he called, "You three ready ter go?"

"Guess so." Terri stood up, leaving the six galleons on the table, and left the Leaky Cauldron with Ron, Deidre, and Hagrid.

It was about two-thirty in the afternoon by the time they arrived at the kennel, since it was all the way at the other end of Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron. It was a squat grey building that accommodated both the kennel and the local pound. Terri could hear barking in ranges from soprano to very deep bass as they approached the building. "Ah, tha's Fang!" Hagrid grinned as they got closer. "They've got th' critters out fer some exercise."

The attractive young witch at the front desk smiled as they came through the front doors -- she clearly recognized Hagrid. In just a few moments the four of them were taken around to a fenced-in area at the back of the building. Sure enough, a dozen or so dogs of various sizes, colors, and breeds were happily running around, yapping, wrestling, sniffing, and playing with their keepers. Terri's eyes were immediately drawn to an enormous brown dog cheerfully tussling with a half-dozen other dogs. From his deep, booming barks, she guessed this was all in a day's fun for the canine; his wrestling companions looked nearly exhausted.

"Fang!" All it took was one shout. The great dog looked up, spotted his owner, shook off the other dogs as if they were gnats, and galloped over to Hagrid, tail wagging with joy. He put his paws up on Hagrid's chest and stretched up to lick his master's face. Anyone else would have been knocked over, but Hagrid simply bent down to receive his dog's kisses and laughed. "Missed me, did yeh?" And he sat down and started playing and wrestling with Fang himself, which was such an amazing sight that even the keepers of the animals stopped playing with their charges to watch. At Hagrid's urging, Terri and Deidre got acquainted with Fang. Deidre was a bit less than thrilled, but for Terri, it was love at first lick.

"You're the only one I know who's both a dog person and a cat person," said Deidre to Terri, shaking her head in amazement.

Hagrid seemed on the verge of saying something rude about cats, but just then an older wizard with a deep tan and kind eyes wandered over to the giant man and dog. "So you're back again, eh?" he said.

"Aye," Hagrid replied. "I owe it to 'im; takin' me firs' vacation this summer in, oh, don' know how long." Scratching Fang behind his ears, he asked, "'E hasn' been any trouble, 'as 'e, Josh?"

"Oh, no," said Josh, smiling and shaking his head. "I've even been using him to train some of the summer interns. They get a mite scared at first, but afterwards--" But the little group never found out what happened afterwards, because just then a slender young wizard, hair and clothes awry, ran full tilt over to them, nearly knocking Josh over.

"You've--you've got--to come!" he managed to gasp out. Josh grabbed the young wizard's shoulders, then began patting him on the back. He coughed twice, took a few deep breaths, then managed to compose himself. "You've got to come to the pound! We got a huge dog in--a monster, I swear--found him nosing around back of Mundungus Fletcher's shop--vicious! He's bit three of us already--Emma's had to go for stitches--"

"Whoa!" said Josh. His eyes went wide. "Get everyone you can with their wands; we'll need to Stupefy that thing before it can do any more damage!" He glanced over at Hagrid, a speculative look in his eyes. "Hagrid, you've got a great touch with animals; would you be willing to...?"

"Anythin' to help," Hagrid replied amiably, giving his dog a friendly pat and shooing him back to his play group. "Ye've taken such good care o' Fang an' all."

In short order Hagrid, Terri, Deidre, Ron, Josh (who Terri decided must be someone in charge), and the out-of-breath wizard were on the other side of the building, which housed the pound. A shaggy black dog, larger than Fang, was holding off three frightened wizards, all of whom held their wands extended. A fourth wizard was sitting on the ground, having a bloody wound on his leg tended to by a witch.

Ron looked at the scene and gasped. "Snuffles?" he squeaked. The snarling dog immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at Ron. With one happy bark, he re-enacted the earlier scene between Fang and Hagrid. Ron, however, was literally bowled over.

The three free wizards ran over to the dog in a panic, apparently fearing that it was trying to eat the young red-haired wizard. Hagrid, comparatively unconcerned, merely lifted the bear-sized dog off of Ron and set him back down on the ground. This gave Ron a chance to recover, and explain, between gasps and laughs, that he knew this dog.

"I've seen him up at Hogsmeade," he said. "He's okay, really."

"He sure wasn't okay to me!" exclaimed the wizard who had been injured.

"Do you know its owner, lad?" asked Josh.

"Um--"

"Because it doesn't have a collar or a license," Josh continued, pointing, "and that's worth a fine right there. Plus," he said, looking at his disheveled wizards, "he's injured my employees, and there are laws about keeping vicious animals as pets."

"Oh." Still sitting on the ground, Ron looked at Snuffles in concern. For his part, the large black dog seemed to be doing his best to look as not-vicious as possible.

"I think," Hagrid cut in, "that there was just a misunderstandin' here. I've seen Snuffles around, too." His eyes twinkled, and he gave the dog a vigorous scratch behind his ears. Snuffles actually seemed to enjoy it -- or at least seemed to be pretending well that he was enjoying it. It rather reminded Terri of her uncle's German shepherd -- a great guard dog that dealt with children mainly by sitting tolerantly in one spot until they got bored with him. "Th' dog was jus' defendin' 'imself. None o' yeh would want ter be put in a cage you couldn' get out o', would ye?"

"Do you know his owner, then, Hagrid?" asked Josh.

"Mmm, think I do, yes," said Hagrid. Ron looked both surprised and relieved. "Ye'll be wantin' to get back ter Lupin, won' ye?" He murmured to Snuffles. The dog bowed his head, and gave one short bark. Turning back to Josh, the giant said, "That settles it, then." Taking a large pouch from a pocket in his pants, he added, "I'll pay th' fines and th' licensing fee, Josh; I kin always get it back from th' person responsible later." Hagrid glared at Snuffles as he said the last, and the dog looked back up at him as if -- hmmm. As if it's trying to play innocent, thought Terri.

So it was that all four of them, plus Josh and Snuffles, re-entered the building. As Josh handed Hagrid the appropriate paperwork, he asked, "Would you like to get him spayed? It'll probably make him less mean."

Hagrid gave Snuffles a speculative look. The dog immediately lowered himself into a defensive position and made a noise halfway between a howl and a whimper. Hagrid grinned. "I don' think so, Josh. Bes' let Lupin decide that." Snuffles looked as if he wasn't sure he liked that idea much better.

While Hagrid and Josh dealt with the paperwork, Terri made her way over to Snuffles. She knew how to approach dogs, of course: go down to their level, don't be afraid, and hold your hand a little ways under their nose to sniff. Back off if it gives any sign (like growling) that it doesn't want to be approached. But Snuffles let her approach -- and after he sniffed her hand, he not only licked it, but eagerly licked her face as well. "Shh, it's okay, you don't have to pretend like I'm some long-lost friend or something," she whispered to him. Snuffles backed off from her, and she could have sworn he'd looked amused at her last comment. No markings around the eyes, she thought, but this one's an Animagi, or I'm not a witch.

"He's, er, not usually that friendly with folks he doesn't know," said Ron. "I mean, he's friendly enough, but--"

"But he seems to think he knows me," Terri observed drily. "Hmmm. Now where would I have met a big black dog like this, and not remembered it?" She looked as Snuffles as if asking him the question, but he just tilted his head to the side -- the doggie equivalent of a shrug. Thank you, Mr. Snuffles. The only Animagi I know turns into a cat, not a dog. Could this be one of the other teachers I met here? She went down the list of teachers, remembering what Gavin had taught her about Animagi -- that what you turn into depends very much on your own personality. Professor Flitwick didn't seem to be the type to turn into something this big. Professor Sprout -- no, she didn't seem the type to become an Animagi at all. Hagrid and McGonagall were accounted for. That left Professors Dumbledore and ... Snape.

Terri looked at the dog again. He resumed licking her face. No, even as a dog, there was no way Professor Snape could be this friendly. That left Dumbledore...but no. Hagrid seemed to know this Animagi, at least well enough to suggest where to take him, and if this was Dumbledore, the giant man would have been more respectful. And why hadn't he just turned back into Dumbledore when he was captured, come to think of it?

She had her answer after they'd managed (with a little reluctance from the dog) to put a collar with a shiny new license on the animal and were just leaving the pound. Albus Dumbledore himself waved politely to them from across the street, and met up with the little group. "I knew you'd be here, Hagrid," he said with a smile. "And it's good to see you again," he added to Terri and Deidre. "I see you've found a good guide," he continued with a nod to Ron. He glanced down at their shaggy black companion and frowned. "What have we here?"

"Th' folks from th' pound spotted 'im near Fletcher's shop," Hagrid explained. "'E was givin' 'em -- well. Anyways, I paid fer a license, and covered a bit o' medical expense, seein' as how Snuffle's master Remus Lupin hadn't seen fit ter get 'im one." Hagrid managed to sound indignant at that last, but Terri saw a twinkle in his eye.

Suddenly, something clicked in Terri's head. "Remus Lupin!" She exclaimed, slapping her head.

"You know him?" asked Ron.

"I've heard the name," Terri replied. Now if I can just remember where...

"He was the best DADA teacher we ever had," Ron enthused. "I still wish he hadn't had to leave." Ron gave Professor Dumbledore a half-questioning, half-pleading look.

Dumbledore sighed. "So do I. I had hoped the prejudice against werewolves would have lessened after the Wolfsbane potion became more commonly distributed, but--"

"Werewolves?" Deidre asked, eyes widening. "You mean -- they're real?"

"Aye," said Hagrid, nodding his big head vigorously. "We've a bunch of 'em livin' in th' Forbidden Forest. I hear 'em howling summat fierce at th' full moon."

Deidre shuddered, and looked over at Terri. "Is this something else you forgot to tell me?" she asked.

Terri shrugged. "I didn't know about the werewolves in the Forbidden Forest," she explained. So much for holding a skyclad circle for drawing down the moon in the forest, Terri thought wryly.

"Oh, before I forget...!" It was Ron's turn to slap his forehead. He turned to Dumbledore. "Mum told me special that if I should see you today, I should invite you over for dinner tonight. And you too, Hagrid."

"'Fraid I'll have to decline, lad," said Hagrid regretfully. "I need ter make sure that shipment from th' Leaky Cauldron arrived at Hogwarts all right. With your permission, Professor?"

"Oh, of course," said the headmaster. Almost bowing to Dumbledore, Hagrid left the little group and took off toward the Leaky Cauldron, where Terri gathered that he'd use some Floo powder to get back to Hogwarts.

"I'd be glad to take your mother up on the dinner invitation," said the professor to Ron. "Although," he added, a bit distractedly, "I have a feeling she won't be very happy to see me after today." He waved dismissively. "But never mind. Right now we need to get you" he looked at Snuffles "to where you belong."

"And I don't know where Prof--where Remus Lupin lives," said Ron. "Er, do you know how he's doing, Professor?"

"He was well, last I heard. He should still have more than half of the Wolfsbane potion we sent him when he left the school," Dumbledore replied. As he looked at Snuffles, Terri suddenly remembered where she'd heard Lupin's name before. A young werewolf-turned-teacher, with several close friends...including a certain forlorn wizard she'd met in Florida.

"I might ask Lupin if he'd let me adopt this dog," Terri piped up, scratching Snuffles behind the ears. Ron, Deidre, and even the dog gave her surprised looks. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow.

"You can't be serious!" Deidre said, hands on hips. "There's no room in our apartment -- and think what Claire and Esmeralda would make of that beast!"

"He's better than some of the men I've met," Terri commented. Squatting down so she was face to face with Snuffles, she said, "After all, you wouldn't have a summer romance with some lady dog and then never come see her again, would you?"

There was no other way to describe it -- Snuffles gave her a hangdog look. Ah ha! Terri thought. Professor Dumbledore made a coughing noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Ron looked at the professor, then Terri, then Snuffles -- and then he got it, too.

"Err," said Ron, "well, you know how dogs are -- I mean, what if he lost the lady dog's address? Or forgot it?"

Terri sat back on her haunches. She hadn't thought of that. Snuffles brightened, then turned to Terri and gave her puppy dog eyes. Lord and Lady, she thought, who could stay angry with a face like that?

"Be that as it may," said Professor Dumbledore cheerfully, "you'll want to take that up with Remus Lupin yourself. I was planning to Apparate over to see him anyway -- we can all meet in front of Gringotts at, say, five o'clock?" Dumbledore took a large pocket-watch from his robes and consulted it. "If it's no trouble for you three to mind Snuffles until then, that is?"

It was quickly agreed; and, with a final nod to the group, Professor Dumbledore Disapparated.

"That is still unsettling," said Deidre, looking at the spot where the headmaster had been standing.

"You'll get used to it," said Terri. She glanced down at the big black dog, who looked shyly back up at her. Why doesn't he turn back into himself? she wondered. Sure, Animagi are rare, but this is Diagon Alley...

"Well, where to now?" asked Ron, interrupting Terri's thoughts.

"Oh." Terri looked around distractedly for a second, then remembered. "Flourish and Blotts -- and no shortcuts!"

"Yes, ma'am!" They all laughed, and were soon on their way.

Flourish and Blotts was about a ten minute walk from the pound, and about as far from Gringotts. Terri and Deidre paused to look over the display window before going in. I Hate the Wronski Feint: Memoirs of a Mediwizard shared space with Quidditch Through the Ages. Terri grinned when she saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; that had been one of her own textbooks, and she still had her copy. "Let's go in," she said, nudging Deidre.

Ron cleared his throat. "I have to go on an errand for George--"

"Oh yeah, we saw," said Deidre. She made a shooing gesture.

"When do you want me to meet you back here?" he asked.

Terri shrugged. "No need; we can find our way to Gringotts from here easy enough. We'll meet you there at five o'clock."

Ron looked puzzled. "But it's only three-thirty now," he said.

"So?" asked Deidre.

"Well..." he scratched his head. "You're going to spend all that time in there?" Ron finally asked.

Terri and Deidre looked at each other. "Of course," Terri said.

"But--"

"But what?" asked Terri.

"It's just a bookstore!" Ron blurted.

Terri and Deidre looked at each other again; they needed no magic to read each other's minds. Has this poor child gone crazy? Even Snuffles gave Ron a pitying look.

"Ah...just a bookstore. Right. How silly of us." Terri shook her head. Maybe he'll understand when he gets older, she thought.

"But, Ron," Deidre piped up, "I've never been in a bookstore like this before. And since we're going here to get books to help with my magical education--"

"And trust me, she needs all the help she can get," Terri muttered. At Deidre's glare, she added, "Especially if you're anything like I was when I started out." The red-haired witch turned to Ron and said, "Go ahead and take Snuffles with you. He can't come in here, and he'll just be bored sitting outside the shop."

But as Terri finished her comment, Snuffles moved to a spot near the doors but not blocking them, and settled down, as if fully prepared to wait. Argh, this isn't what I need right now, Terri thought. She knew she'd feel self-conscious as all hell browsing in the store while her fling from last summer waited outside...even if he was a real dog...Stop making jokes like that! she told herself sternly. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ron," she said, "I think you'd better go over to Snuffles and bring up lunch." At his horrified look, she amended, "I mean, what we talked about over lunch! What happened when the twins took that `shortcut,' remember?"

"Er, okay, but why?" Ron asked. He gave her a suspicious look. "You don't think I'm going to Knockturn Alley after that?!"

"No," Terri said, a bit too quickly. "It's just that I'd feel better if you have a fully capable -- er, guard dog with you." She gave Snuffles a speculative look. I don't even know if he has a wand with him -- or if he needs one, she thought. "Your mum would have my hide if anything happened to you."

Ron gave her a strange look. "Funny, she said she'd have my hide if anything happened to you," he said.

Just then Snuffles decided to end the argument by standing up and tugging on Ron's robes. Waving at the two women, Ron went off in search of fireworks. Terri smiled, opened the door to Flourish and Blotts, and gestured to Deidre to go in first.

"Wow." Following behind her friend, Terri had to agree. The place looked like a cross between Barnes and Noble, the largest college bookstore just off Rutgers campus, and something neither woman could quite place. There were large leatherbound books, small silkbound books, and everything in between; books with titles they couldn't read, books in bottles, and books that seemed to move while you watched.

"May I help you?" asked a pleasant young witch.

Oops, guess we've got "tourist" written all over us, Terri thought ruefully. "Yes, actually," she said. "Do you have a copy of the list of textbooks Hogwarts will be using this year?"

The clerk frowned. "Not all of them," she said. "I can let you look at last year's list -- they're usually the same each year, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts. What level do you need?"

"All of them." At the other witch's surprised look, Terri just pointed to Deidre and said, "Late bloomer."

"Really?" The witch grinned, and began walking over to an information island. Terri and Deidre followed. "I have a cousin who was a late bloomer," she explained while rummaging through some papers under the counter. "We all thought he was a Squib until his senior prom. He got his first kiss." She shook her head. "Thank heavens the Department of Mysteries paid to fix the hole in the ceiling and the melted carpet! I shudder to think what the hotel would have charged us." She paused to unroll some parchment. "Ah! Here we go." She handed it over to Terri.

"Thanks. Do you have some blank parchment? I bet I have most of these books already, but we'll want to get the ones I don't have..."

In short order, the two women had found a pair of chairs and a low table. Deidre knelt in front of the table, scribbling on the blank parchment, while Terri went down the list, checking the books. "Hmmm...better get you your own copy of Jigger's book on potions...you can have my copy of P. Spores' book, but we'd better check and make sure there aren't separate British and US editions...nothing listed for Care of Magical Creatures, but I've already got Fantastic Beasts, and that's the standard text...looks like they used the standard text for DADA last year, too...hmmm, I don't have Unfogging the Future, you'll need that if you're going to study Divination..." By the time they got to the end of the list, both women were relieved to discover that Deidre needed only about three or four books.

Of course, they came out with more than just those books. Terri found an old favorite as they passed by the books on magical animals. "Hairy Snout, Human Heart!" she exclaimed, grabbing the book. This was a new edition, she saw; the author was still anonymous, but three chapters had been added on life after the Wolfsbane potion had been created, and a fourth chapter provided quotes from letters the author had received from other werewolves, talking about their own lives. "Here's one for you to read, Deidre," she commented. "But you'd better make sure it's during the daytime. Or that all the lights are on. And don't even think of reading it during a full moon."

"That scary?" asked Deidre.

"That heart-rending," Terri replied.

Deidre also found one for Terri, on one of the bargain tables: A Heady Brew: My Life as a Potions Master. It was by Gavin Bones Sr., as told to his sons. "That modest British git," said Terri. "I should make him autograph this for never telling me about it!" The front cover showed a bald and clean-shaven wizard adding ingredients to a cauldron. Smoke rose from the cauldron; the wizard looked up, blinked as if just noticing he was being watched, and smiled. Terri checked the table of contents -- and added it to their purchases as soon as she saw how many chapters he devoted to teaching.

Praising themselves on their self-control for buying only six books, the two women quickly made their way to Gringotts. Standing just to the side of the bank were Professor Dumbledore, Ron, Snuffles, and a wizard Terri had never met before. At first glance, he looked to be about the same age as her old summer fling. A second glance revealed that those years had not been kind to him. There were white streaks in his long brown hair, and even when his face was merry -- which it was now -- there was a haunted look about him that recalled old pain. His robes, though well-kept, had been much mended.

"I still can't believe it," Terri heard him saying as she approached. "After all those years at Hogwarts, and never getting caught -- to be captured by the local pound! Oh, my dear Padfoot, you are losing your touch." Snuffles merely growled in response.

"Hi, hope we didn't keep you waiting long," said Terri as she and Deidre approached the group. Snuffles perked up when he saw her; when she got close, he got up on his hind legs, braced his front legs against her shoulders, and began licking her face again. "Whoa, down, boy!" she said, laughing. Ron watched this with a somewhat bemused expression, while the new wizard out-and-out laughed. He's still got a whole lot of explaining to do, thought Terri; why does he have to be such a charmer?

After Snuffles let Terri go, Professor Dumbledore made introductions. As she suspected, the new wizard was Remus Lupin. "Your friend Sirius Black told me a lot about you," she said as she shook his hand. His grip was warm and firm.

"Indeed." Lupin spared a glance at Snuffles. "He's told me about you, too." He looked as if he wanted to say more, but stopped at a tap on his shoulder from Professor Dumbledore.

"It took a bit of negotiating to manage those who can and can't Apparate," he said, nodding at the group. He held up a set of keys. "Fortunately, Bill Weasley is permitting us to borrow his motorcycle. Please come with me."

The group went around to the back of Gringotts, to the parking garage. Bill's motorcycle was the only vehicle in the lot, and the guard was gone. As they approached the cycle, Dumbledore explained the arrangements. "Bill will Apparate back to the Burrow when he is finished for the day; it should be about another hour. Remus and I will Apparate over now -- I've already cleared all this with your mother, Ron -- and the two of us, plus Snuffles, will be joining you for dinner. The four of you," he gestured to Ron, Terri, Deidre, and Snuffles, "will ride back with the cycle."

"Um, Professor?" Terri began hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"I think there are two problems with this plan," Terri explained. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to continue. "Well, I don't think there's enough room for four on that motorcycle, even if one of them is a dog." I sure wouldn't want to share a sidecar with a dog, she thought.

"Ah! That's fixable." Drawing his wand from within his robes, the headmaster tapped the sidecar, then pointed the wand at the other side of the vehicle. "Duplicado!" Suddenly, there was a second sidecar -- exactly the same as the first one. "That will last long enough for you to get back to the Burrow."

Terri's eyes widened slightly; then she nodded. Should've expected that. "Nice, but it doesn't address the other problem."

"Which is?"

"Well--" She glanced over at Deidre, then at Ron, before turning back to the headmaster to answer his question. "I don't think any of us knows how to drive a motorcycle."