Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 94: Lady Rose's Shop
"Ron, stop swerving the broom. I swear to Merlin, I'm going to puke!" Hermione yelled.
"I can't help it. It's too much weight," said Ron without thinking.
"Are you calling me fat?" Hermione turned her head around. She was sitting at the front of the broom, with Ron having his arms wrapped around her.
"Good job, Ron!" said George as he passed by.
"Rest in peace, brother," Fred added. The two twins were sharing another broom.
"I'm not! What I wanted to say is that it's an old model," Ron hurried to speak.
"Hmph!" Hermione puffed her cheeks.
"You are not fat… seriously. I think you are very pret… ehm… never mind." Ron was blushing like a tomato.
Hermione lowered her face and didn't say anything else.
"Pay attention. We are getting close to the alley." Charlie got to their side. Harry's cocoon had been carefully wrapped on his back with several conjured ropes. "Ginny, can you tell from up here where to go?"
She looked down. It was all dark and hard to tell where one roof ended and another one began. "Maybe… the shop is supposed to be near the end of the alley. There is a circular plaza with a patch of green grass, and in the middle of it, there is a small wooden cabin."
"There is such a place in Knockturn Alley?" George asked.
Fred shrugged. "Doesn't sound like it fits."
"Wait… a circular patch of grass with a cabin? I think I heard of that place." Charlie thought about it for a moment. "Keep your wands ready. There are some very scary stories about that part of Knockturn Alley."
"Great…" Ron mumbled.
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Five minutes later, the group quietly landed their brooms under the cover of the night.
The narrow alleyways were silent as a tomb, making them more nervous.
Charlie gave them a signal not to speak and pointed to his left. "Let's go," he whispered as he adjusted the weight of Harry on his back.
They went through a long corridor that led into a large opening. All around them were tall houses. Their roofs leaned inward, covering most of the sky, except at the center, where some moonlight made it through.
As Ginny had described, there was a circular patch of grass there. It looked immaculate and untouched, like no one had ever walked over it.
A small wooden cabin had been built right in the middle of the circle. It had one small flower garden on one side and a window with red curtains.
"Seeing a house like this in here… it's kinda creepy," said Ron.
They all felt the same way. It was like this place didn't belong in Knockturn Alley. Like someone had ripped off a piece of a countryside landscape and dropped it here.
"Shh! Be quiet," Charlie ordered them. His eyes shifted around. "I heard something."
A soft creaking noise was clearly heard next. It came from one of the houses.
The group turned toward the sound but couldn't see anything. It was too dark.
Then, another similar noise came from another house.
"I don't like this," said Fred.
"Yeah, well, I'm not loving it either." George raised his wand.
The creaking sound got louder as one of the doors opened up. Three individuals walked outside. They were covered in black robes, making it impossible to discern their features.
"What is this? Children in our neighborhood?" one of the men said.
Charlie opened his mouth to speak. "We are just here for—"
Another door opened on the other side, and more people walked out.
"This is a private place. Outsiders are not welcome." The same man spoke again. He was walking closer to them.
Charlie and the others took several steps back; their feet touched the grass of the circular yard.
"We don't want trouble. We only came here to visit Lady Rose," said Charlie.
All of the cloaked men stopped their movement and looked at each other.
"Are you an acquaintance of Lady Rose?" the cloaked man asked.
"Not me… him." Charlie pointed at the bundle tied on his back. The face of Harry could barely be seen under the moonlight.
"You are bringing her a corpse? I'm not sure she will be interested."
"Harry is not dead!" Ginny shouted at the man.
"Gin! What are you doing?" Ron exclaimed.
"Harry?" Another one of the cloaked individuals spoke. This time it sounded like an older woman. She glanced at the bundle in Charlie's arms. "Could that be Harry Potter by any chance?"
They began to murmur among themselves.
"It has to be him."
"That one has been here before."
"Harry Potter."
"I heard there is a generous reward for that one."
"The Dark Lord…"
One of them walked closer, stepping onto the grass as well. By this point, Charlie and the rest were near the middle of the garden.
"I'll tell you what. You leave that Harry with us, along with every galleon you are carrying, and… we'll let you go," the man offered.
"No way!" Ginny shouted at him and pointed her wand. "You are not taking him away. I'll fight you!"
"Hahaha! You are going to fight me, little girl?" The man laughed, and the rest soon joined him.
"That won't be necessary." A soft voice echoed in the yard.
Everyone froze.
The cloaked man who had stepped onto the grass began to scream.
The blades of grass under his feet had started to grow quickly, wrapping themselves around his foot and climbing across his leg. Some of the blades of grass then began burning themselves deep into his flesh.
"What did I say about stepping onto my grass? You all know I am not very forgiving."
Charlie and the others heard this and looked down at the grass beneath their feet.
"Oh, don't worry. You are my guests." said the voice as the door of the cabin opened by itself. "Come on in. We have much to discuss."
Charlie saw how all the other creepy individuals hurried back to their houses. The man who had become trapped by the grass was no longer screaming. His body was now covered in grass, and it seemed to be getting dragged into the ground.
He did not want to know what would happen next. "Come on, get into the shop!." He rushed the others to enter the cabin and hoped that his sister Ginny was right about this Lady Rose, and that they were not just venturing into an even worse place.
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