I Can't Stop Digging the Way You Make Me Feel

Everybody woke up at the crack of dawn the next day and, with a surprising amount of energy, they packed everything up and managed to leave their campsite within an hour. Despite the many people who woke up early with the same idea of getting out as fast as they can, Mr. Weasley was able to quickly get a Portkey in the shape of a rubber tire and the twelve of them went home. Mrs. Weasley met them out in the yard, clutching the Daily Prophet in her hand a look of pure worry on her face. After she welcomed everybody back and Mr. Weasley immediately went to the Ministry, George showed his mum Emilie’s arm and Emilie got the bone back in place and up in a sling.

Over the next couple of days, the events of the Quidditch World Cup were floating around wizarding homes and the Ministry of Magic, though that topic wasn't anywhere near Ireland's spectacular ten point win. A picture of the green Dark Mark that appeared in the sky after the rampage was splashed across the front page of the Daily Prophet. The topic, however, was no longer spoken among those inside the Burrow. The school year was rapidly approaching and Mrs. Weasley still needed to help seven students get their supplies. On the morning of the last day of summer vacation, Mrs. Weasley woke everybody up, saying that they were all going to Diagon Alley. Emilie woke up late, once again, and quickly changed. She put her sandals on, grabbed her over-the-shoulder bag, and went downstairs where everybody was waiting.

“Morning, Em. Finally decided to get up, did we?” George winked

Emilie showed off her excessively high level of maturity by sticking her tongue out at him as she passed him.

“Okay, Emilie dear, you can go first.” Mrs. Weasley said, holding out the pot of Floo Powder

Emilie grabbed a handful of the black powder and stepped into the fireplace.

“Diagon Alley!”

She dropped the Floo Powder in and disappeared. A few seconds later, she stumbled out of the fireplace and before she could move, George stumbled out and crashed into her, making Emilie fall back on her butt and George on top of her legs.

“George get off, you’re crushing me!” Emilie laughed

He laughed heartily and stood up. He then helped Emilie up and she brushed the dirt off of herself before turning to George.

"God, you weigh a lot. You need to lay off the food." She commented, patting George's stomach

George scowled and pushed her hand away. When everybody else had arrived, Mrs. Weasley tapped the bricks and they opened, showing the familiar cobblestone path that led directly into Diagon Alley. As they all set off into Diagon Alley, they became part of a large crowd full of students that had also waited until the last minute to get their school supplies.

“I have to go get some money from Gringotts. I’ll meet you all at Florish and Blotts in about ten minutes, yeah?” Emilie said, directing it more towards Fred and George

“Yeah, we’ll see you in a bit then.” Fred answered

Emilie waved at the both of them and headed down the path. As soon as she turned the corner just a block away from where she left the Weasley’s, the large building of Gringotts Wizarding Bank came into view. Emilie went up the wide staircase and went into the cool, air-conditioned bank. She stood in the short line in front of the front desk and soon enough, she was face-to-face with one of the working goblins.

"I would like to make a withdrawal, sir." She said

"Name, please."

"Emilie Arden."

"Key, please."

Emilie handed over her key and followed the goblin into the dark cave-like area below the bank. The goblin opened up the vault for her and she scooped up handfuls of galleons, sickles, and knuts to put into her pouch. When she was done, she rode back up to the main floor and before she could walk out the door, Emilie heard two voices calling her name. She turned and saw her two best friends, Kathleen "Katie" Jacobson and Alyssa McClelland rushing towards her.

“Hey!” Emilie exclaimed loudly as she hugged both of her best girl friends

“What are you two doing here? You of all people never leave things until the last minute.” Emilie said as they pulled out of the hug, looking right at Alyssa

“True, but I just forgot a book on our list and I deposited some money. What about you? And what happened to your arm?” Alyssa asked, finally taking notice of Emilie’s wrapped up arm

“Oh you know, trampled by Death Eaters at the World Cup. But it’s no big deal; Mrs. Weasley fixed it in a heartbeat.”

“Ah, of course, you’re always at the Weasley’s before school starts.” Katie smirked

“Of course! You don’t expect me to do all of the work for our annual back-to-school prank and let them take the credit, do you?”

“Touché. So, I suppose you have to meet them soon?”

“Yeah, I do. I wish I could catch up with you guys since you two left me over the summer!”

“You know I go to Belfast every summer! I’ve got relatives there!” Alyssa exclaimed

“I know, I know, but somebody just had to go to Spain!” Emma said, looking at Katie

“I’m sorry. I brought you a souvenir. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”

“Okay, that’s good. Well, I guess I should be heading back outside.”

“We’ll go out with you. We’re heading Fortescue’s.”

The three girls walked outside and were on their way down the marble steps when a voice made them stop.

"Emilie!"

Emilie turned at the sound of her name and saw a woman with the same dark hair and chocolate brown eyes that she had standing a few feet in front of her. A shaggy black dog was standing right next to her, wagging his tail excitedly.

“Mum!” Emilie exclaimed, running down the last couple steps and into the warm embrace of her mother, Elizabeth Arden.

“I was hoping I’d catch you before you went off to school! Molly told me you were going to be here today. What in the world did you do to your arm?”

“I broke it. Blame those bloody stinking Death Eaters that rampaged the World Cup.”

Katie and Alyssa jumped the last couple steps and Emilie’s mum turned her attention to them, giving them hugs and catching up. While they chatted a bit, Emilie knelt down to the dog’s level and petted him as he stared at her arm and then up at you. Emilie shook her head and smiled, letting him know that everything was fine. And then, the dog barked happily and jumped up on Emilie, making her laugh.

“Em, how long have you had a dog?” Alyssa asked, leaning down and petting the dog as well.

“Not long. I’m glad he came along, mum. It’d be a shame if I didn’t see him before I went back to school.”

“What’s his name?” Katie asked

“Padfoot.” Emilie smiled secretly to herself

“After one of those marauders that are on that map you, Fred, and George have?”

Emilie smirked. “It’s in Harry’s possession now, but yes. And mark my words, I will get them back for giving that away.”

The dog barked cheerfully and Emilie looked into the dog’s eyes, seeing the humor and wisdom of her father behind them.

“Well, I have to get going. I’m meeting the Weasley’s at Flourish and Blott’s.”

“Have a good school year, dear. I expect you to write me when you can.” Emilie looked at her mum carefully. She had a knowing smile on her face. She definitely knew something Emilie did not.

“Mum, what do you know?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Bye, bye, dear.”

Emilie’s mum kissed her cheek and then apparated out of Diagon Alley. The girls started back down the stairs again and walked towards Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour. Emilie hugged her two best girlfriends and promised to find them on the train the next day. She then walked down another block and went into Florish and Blotts, where the Weasley family was looking for books.

“There you are. I thought we were going to have to send out a search party or something.” Fred said

"Sorry. I ran into Katie and Alyssa and we chatted for a bit. They were gone all summer, remember?"

“Why was Alyssa here? She’s the only one out of us who’s actually all organized and stuff.”

“That’s what I said! She actually forgot a book that she needed and then she returned some of that money back in her vault. And Katie was there just because Alyssa wanted her there.”

“We may have to hold that against her. She’s getting forgetful. That’s a sign of aging.”

“That it is. And yes we will. And I also ran into my mum, so I chatted with her a bit. Say, do you know anything special that’s happening at school this year?”

“No, but mum knows something. She went and bought George and I dress robes.”

“Hey Em, come here!”

George suddenly came around the corner, holding an almost evil-looking, dark black book. Emilie walked over to him and looked at the book.

“This book has practically everything that has to do with Unforgivable Curses and other really dark spells. Its wicked sweet. It must mean we’re actually going to have a legit professor.”

“I dunno, I really liked Lupin. He was a fantastic teacher.”

As George and Emilie looked through the book in fascination, Mrs. Weasley started piling all of the other books that they would need. After another couple minutes of collecting books, they all went up to the front and paid for their things. They all left the store and while Mrs. Weasley took Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny to Madam Malkin’s, Fred, George, and Emilie headed straight towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. A half an hour later, they all walked out of the store with broom polish and new gloves. They then stopped quickly at Gambol and Japes and stocked up on Dr. Filibuster’s fireworks and many other items. They all met back up at the Leaky Cauldron and used the fireplace to get back to the Burrow. While Mrs. Weasley immediately went into the kitchen to start cooking dinner, the younger ones went into the living room to talk and Fred, George, and Emilie went upstairs to the twins’ room. They moved all of their order forms out of the way, dumped their bag of pranks on the floor, and sat in a circle.

“Alright lads, we failed to come up with the perfect back-to-school prank on the eve of the Quidditch World Cup, and now we’re down to twelve hours. We need to start brainstorming now. George, go.” Emilie said

“Right, well, what’s our aim? Filch? Firsties? Slytherins?”

“Honestly, I don’t think we ought to get Filch until we need to steal something from his office.” Fred said

“Okay, so no Filch. For now.”

“We have to get Flint. I haven’t forgotten what he did to you at the Quidditch final.” Fred again pointed out, scowling at the thought of Slytherin’s Quidditch captain.

“What are you talking about? He only stole Montague’s bat, snuck up on me from behind, hit me over the head with it, and made me fall from thirty feet in the air. It happens all the time.” Emilie said somberly

Fred mocked her and kicked her leg.

“Don’t worry, Ems. We’ll get him.” George winked, making Emilie smile widely and blush lightly

“Sounds like Slytherins it is, then.”

“Awesome. Now the prank: potion or spell?”

George and Emilie silently pondered Fred’s question for a long moment before George finally spoke up.

“I think potion. Almost all spells are irreversible.”

“Except the Killing Curse.” Emilie pointed out

“We have to jinx somebody’s broom. Its beginner’s stuff, but it’s always good for a laugh. I vote Malfoy.”

George and Emilie nodded enthusiastically and then quieted down as they kept thinking. After a couple more minutes, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs and then Mrs. Weasley poked her head into the room.

“Dinner’s ready, you lot. Come and eat.”

The three teenagers stood up and followed Mrs. Weasley downstairs to the kitchen. They sat down and, when Mrs. Weasley put the bowls and plates of food on the table, they started piling it on our plates. Emilie sat down in the available seat next to Harry and turned towards him while the twins were still getting food.

“Did you happen to see the dog that my mum brought round Diagon Alley today?” She muttered

Harry smiled and nodded. Emilie smiled back and turned back around as the twins sat down across from her.

“Mrs. Weasley, delicious as always.” Emilie said after taking her first bite of food

“Why thank you, dear. Make sure you leave some food for Arthur. He should be home soon.”

At that very moment, the door opened and Arthur Weasley came through the door with his briefcase and hat in his hands.

“Hello, all!” He said cheerfully, albeit looking slightly grim

"Hello, sir Arthur! How's the ministry today?" Emilie asked happily

"Oh it could be better, I guess." Mr. Weasley replied as he sat down and began putting food on his plate

"Why's that?" Mrs. Weasley asked

"Fudge is completely in denial."

“About what?”

“The rampage of Death Eaters and the Dark Mark that appeared in the sky that night.”

“Denying it? How?” Ron asked

“He says it wasn’t really the Death Eaters that showed up. Impersonators.”

“How can you deny something like that? It was in plain sight.” Harry asked

“Everybody saw them. Everybody was running away from them.” Hermione added

“I know, but I Fudge just doesn’t want to admit the truth. He’s the mind of person that always wants things to be right.”

“What is he saying? Who is he saying it was then if it wasn’t the Death Eaters?” Emilie asked

“Teenagers playing tricks on people. He also says a child first experimenting with magic set off the Dark Mark by accident.”

Mrs. Weasley slammed her wooden spoon on the counter and turned away from the pot full of boiling stew.

“The Minister is a good person, we all know that, but he cannot take the extra step and accuse a child for sending the Dark Mark in the sky. And besides, according to Harry, he saw the person that did it, an adult, right Harry dear?”

“Yes, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Fudge is just so wrong.”

There was suddenly a loud POP and the stew in the pot behind Mrs. Weasley burst everywhere. She yelped in surprise, as did everyone else, and she turned around.

“Alright, Fred, George, Emilie, which one of you slipped something in the pot?”

“Mum, I promise, we didn’t do anything.” Fred said

“We’ve been upstairs since we got home! When would we have had the time to do it?” George argued

Mrs. Weasley nodded and turned to clean up the mess. As Emilie looked at the mess all over the walls, a light bulb went off in her head. George turned back around to his plate and saw the look on Emilie’s face.

“I know that look.” He smirked

Fred looked around at George and then at Emilie.

“Oh, I’ve got something all right. Finish up and meet in the living room.”

Fred, George, and Emilie finished eating quickly and brought their dishes up to the sink. They washed them off and then went back upstairs to the twins’ room. They sat back down on their stomachs and gathered close.

“Okay, here’s my idea: what if we took a couple Dr. Filibuster fireworks, put a potion with red, gold, and elements of our Gryffindor common room in them, and set them up so they’ll go off and turn whatever room we set it off in look exactly like the Gryffindor common room.” Emilie said, smirking widely

Fred and George looked at each other and smiled.

“Brilliant. Did you have a room in mind?” Fred asked

"I was thinking the dungeons of the ever-lovely Snape."

“Oh, that’ll be wicked sweet! I can almost see the look on his face now.” George said dreamily

“We’ll come up with the ingredients and how we’re going to concoct it tonight and tomorrow and then we’ll make it tomorrow night. We need bits and pieces of the common room anyway. Then hopefully we’ll all have Potions together and we can let them go and give Snivellus a good ‘welcome back to school’.”

“Snivellus?” Fred said confusedly

“Yeah, Lupin told me that one. Clever, innit? I have every intention to bring it back for our own personal joy and Snape’s personal hell.”

“You’re brain is working wonderfully tonight.” George complimented

“Thank you. Did you know he helped write the Marauders Map?”

“Snape?”

“No, silly, Lupin. It was him, James Potter, Sirius Black, and that Pettigrew guy that was formerly known as Scabbers.”

“You’re joking!”

Emilie shook her head and launched into the story. Before she could get very far into it, Ginny came over and joined them. Ever since the World Cup, she and Fred had been closer than ever, which Emilie greatly admired. Emilie continued her story, only to have Ginny contribute jokes and other mini stories, making it a swell last summer night to remember.