The most suspicious thing about Fred and George Weasley that Sunday morning was that they both looked like men with a plan.
I spotted them by the stairs as we left the Great Hall. George held a small notebook, and Fred was peering over his shoulder.
"It won't fit," George said.
"It will."
"I checked."
"Then check again."
"Fred, numbers don't change just because you really want them to."
I stopped a few steps away.
"Should I ask?"
Fred immediately looked up.
"Oliver! We were just looking for you."
I glanced at the notebook.
"I think I'd rather know why before I get excited."
"Remember us mentioning a hand with deliveries?"
"That was yesterday."
"Excellent. We need an extra pair of hands."
"To carry sweets?"
George closed the notebook.
"Among other things."
"From Hogsmeade?"
Draco, who hadn't seemed particularly interested until then, straightened.
"There isn't a Hogsmeade visit today."
"We noticed," Fred replied.
"How are you planning to get there, then?"
"Walking."
I thought of the door behind the tapestry and how confidently the twins had led us through unfamiliar corridors the night before.
"You've got a passage."
George smiled.
"After lunch. Back before dinner. Interested?"
Hogsmeade.
The only entirely wizarding village in Britain, at least according to what I'd read. Officially, I'd have to wait until third year to visit.
I didn't need long to think about it.
"Absolutely."
Draco looked at me, then at the twins.
"What about us?"
Fred hesitated briefly.
"We're taking Oliver today."
"Why?"
"Because we need one person to help. And we're not showing everyone the passage at once."
"We're not everyone."
"I know," George said, a little more gently. "But today it's just the three of us."
Draco pressed his lips together. He looked as though he was weighing up how much he wanted to go against how much he disliked asking the Weasleys for anything.
Blaise spared him the decision.
"Bring back something good," he told me. "If you're risking detention anyway."
"Will do."
Fred pointed to his brother's notebook.
"At least we have a plan."
"What exactly have you worked out?"
"Orders, stock, and how much we can carry," George explained. "Hence the extra pair of hands."
"I'm beginning to suspect you're only showing me Hogsmeade so I'll carry your bags."
Fred put a hand on my shoulder.
"Not only that. You'll be allowed to buy things too."
I met the twins on the third floor after lunch.
Draco had already announced that he wasn't particularly bothered about the trip, then asked what time I'd be back and whether we were going to Zonko's. Blaise simply handed me some money for sweets.
Fred was waiting by a window while George checked the order list. Both wore ordinary clothes rather than school robes. I'd changed into trousers, a jumper and a coat as well.
"Wand?" George asked.
"Got it."
"Money?"
"That too."
"Common sense?"
"Left it in the dormitory."
Fred laughed.
"Knew we'd get along."
We set off down the corridor. After passing a few students and turning a corner by an empty classroom, we stopped in front of a statue of a hunched, one-eyed witch.
Something finally clicked.
Of course.
The passage to Honeydukes.
I stared at the stone hump, trying to recall the details. I knew where the tunnel led, but the password wouldn't come to me.
Fred drew his wand.
"Watch."
He tapped the statue.
"Dissendium."
That was it.
There was a quiet click, and the hump slid aside to reveal a dark opening.
I stepped closer.
Knowing a passage existed and watching it open in front of me were two very different things. A moment ago, this had been an ugly statue. Now I was looking at the entrance to a tunnel that led out of the school grounds.
George glanced down the corridor.
"No one coming. In we go."
Fred gestured towards the opening.
"After you."
I looked at him.
"You found the passage, and I get to check for spiders?"
"We'd warn you if there were any big ones."
"Very reassuring."
I lowered my legs into the opening and carefully slid down. The twins joined me a moment later, and the entrance closed above our heads.
"Lumos."
My wandlight revealed a narrow tunnel. The air smelled of earth, and the walls were cool and damp. In places, we had to duck.
I went first, trying not to trip on the uneven ground.
"How did you find this place?" I asked.
"We had a bit of help," Fred replied.
"From whom?"
"People who knew the castle even better than we do."
I couldn't help smiling.
The Marauder's Map.
Apparently, they still had it. For a moment, I was tempted to steer the conversation towards it, but I couldn't think of any reason I should even suspect something like that existed.
"I'd like to meet them."
"That might be difficult," George said.
I didn't push. It wasn't as though I was telling them about the Room of Requirement.
We walked in silence for a while. The tunnel was longer than I'd imagined, and the novelty soon began to wear off. Eventually, I remembered our conversation that morning.
"Why do you actually need help carrying things? You could use a Levitation Charm."
"In the tunnel, yes," George replied. "We'd rather not lead a procession of boxes through the castle."
"You could shrink them."
"Some magical sweets don't take well to that."
I glanced over my shoulder.
"You tried?"
Fred cleared his throat.
"We ended up with a lot of foam."
"How much?"
"Enough to decide we'd bring a bigger bag next time."
I laughed and stepped around a stone jutting out of the ground.
George explained that most of the stock was already spoken for. Some students had paid deposits; others would pay on delivery. The twins also bought a few extras, since opening the first box usually attracted more customers.
At the orphanage, money had been the main obstacle to buying things like that. Here, you could have a full purse and still be unable to get to a shop.
Fred and George clearly appreciated that particular school rule.
Towards the end of the tunnel, we began climbing stone steps. A wooden trapdoor waited at the top.
George put out his wandlight.
"Quiet now."
Fred approached the exit and pressed his ear to the wood. Only after a long pause did he carefully lift the trapdoor.
I smelled chocolate.
Then caramel, mint, and something else I couldn't identify.
Fred peered out, checked the room and climbed up first. He offered me a hand and helped me follow.
We were in a cellar packed with boxes, jars and sacks. Rolls of wrapping paper lay against one wall. The smell alone was enough to remind me that it had been a while since lunch.
George closed the trapdoor.
"Welcome to Hogsmeade."
"Not a bad place to arrive."
"Honeydukes," Fred added with obvious satisfaction.
I looked around the shelves.
Yes. If I had to choose a shop for a secret passage from Hogwarts to lead to, this one would be high on the list.
The twins approached the stairs. Voices drifted down from above, along with the sound of something being dragged across the floor. We waited until the footsteps faded before Fred eased the door open.
We slipped between the tall shelves while the shopkeeper at the counter was busy with a customer. George immediately turned down an aisle. I followed, trying to look as though I'd been on the right side of that door all along.
Honeydukes was absurd.
I couldn't think of a better word for it.
Sweets covered every available surface. They filled enormous jars, rose in stacks of boxes and hung in baskets from the ceiling. Colourful packaging almost completely hid the walls.
Star-shaped sweets floated above one shelf. Every few seconds, one flashed and changed colour. Further along, I spotted Sugar Quills, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Pepper Imps and entire rows of things whose names I'd never heard.
I stopped in front of a jar of lollipops.
Sour. Do not lick two at once.
"What happens if someone eats two?" I asked.
Fred read the label.
"Don't know."
George peered over his shoulder.
"But warn us if you're going to find out."
"I didn't say I was."
A few steps further on, I found the Fizzing Whizzbees. I examined the packaging, then the sweets themselves.
"Do these really make you float?"
"For a little while," George replied.
I took a packet.
Fred noticed and gave me a knowing grin.
Most of the shops I visited in Diagon Alley sold practical things: books, wands, potion ingredients. Here, someone had put time and skill into making a sweet that let you breathe fire for half a minute.
It was hard not to appreciate an invention like that.
I wanted to look at everything, but before I'd reached the end of the second aisle, George called me over to the counter.
"If you spend that long at every shelf, we'll be heading back tomorrow."
"It's my first time here."
"That's why I'm calling you now, rather than in an hour."
The order list lay on the counter. Fred was negotiating the price of a larger box of Chocolate Frogs while George checked the packets that had already been brought out.
I studied the notebook. They had students' names, quantities, prices and marks beside the deposits they'd received. One page was almost full.
"How much do you make from this?" I asked.
Fred looked at me.
"How much will you pay to find out?"
George ran a finger down to the next item.
"Some goes towards the next lot of stock. We spend a bit on ideas of our own."
"What sort of ideas?"
"We're trying to make a few things Zonko's doesn't sell."
Fred immediately turned away from the shopkeeper.
"And improve the things they do."
"Got anything working yet?"
"A few things," George admitted. "Not well enough to sell them, though."
That caught my interest.
Before I could ask for details, the shopkeeper brought out the rest of the order. George started counting boxes, and Fred took out the money.
When they checked the bill, one carton had been charged at the price of the individual packets rather than the bulk price they'd agreed on. George caught it straight away. The shopkeeper checked his figures, apologised and corrected the total.
There were no jokes or theatrics. They checked the order, paid, and only then started dividing up the parcels.
I bought some sweets for myself and the ones Blaise had asked for. I added a few packets for Draco, then accepted a bag from George.
It was heavier than I'd expected.
"Is that everything?"
Fred looked at the remaining purchases.
"Nearly."
"I'm starting to see why you needed help."
Before heading back to the castle, the twins agreed to show me a little of the village.
Outside, the autumn air was pleasantly cool. The wind stirred the shop signs, and the smells of chimney smoke and fresh bread mingled in the street.
I paused outside the shop.
Hogsmeade felt different from Diagon Alley. There, I was usually squeezing through crowds, trying not to get in anyone's way or miss the shop I was looking for. Here, everything was quieter. Small houses lined the street, and three elderly wizards outside an inn were arguing so animatedly that I could hear them from across the road.
A witch walked past us with two dogs. One of them had far too many ears.
Further along, a boy about my age was trying to convince his mother that he absolutely needed a quill that corrected mistakes by itself. She didn't look persuaded.
I smiled.
Nobody here had to worry about a Muggle noticing an enchanted sign or a strange animal. People simply shopped, talked and used magic whenever it made life easier.
Fred stopped beside me.
"Well?"
"I like it."
"Good. That's Zonko's over there."
He pointed to a colourful sign. The face painted on it pulled a hideous grimace, then burst into silent laughter.
"Your competition?"
"For now, we're their customers," George replied.
Fred smiled to himself but said nothing.
Across the street stood the Three Broomsticks. Through the windows, I could see wooden tables, a fireplace and customers sitting over tankards.
"Can we go in?"
George looked at me.
"Need a rest already?"
"I want to try Butterbeer."
Fred stopped.
"You've never had it?"
"No."
He looked at his brother, then at the pub.
"I think we've got time."
"But you're buying," George added.
I laughed.
"All right."
Butterbeer turned out to be sweet, warm and much better than I'd imagined. After the first sip, I put down my tankard and regarded it appreciatively.
"Damn."
Fred raised his own.
"To good business."
We clinked tankards.
Our small table was near the window. By the fire, two elderly wizards were playing chess. A woman nearby was telling her companion about a cauldron that had spent all night trying to repair itself and made more of a mess than when it broke.
For a few minutes, we simply drank and gave our arms a rest.
"Now I understand why everyone looks forward to Hogsmeade visits," I said.
"And you haven't even been to Zonko's," Fred pointed out.
"Probably won't have time today," George said. "Next time."
That sounded promising.
Fred settled back in his chair.
"Did you really want to look at every shelf in Honeydukes?"
"Yes."
"Most of it's just sweets."
"Sweets that do things sweets shouldn't do."
George smiled.
"Depends what you're used to."
"Exactly."
I took another sip. Fizzing Whizzbees had probably been around for as long as they could remember. I still thought that being able to leave the ground after eating a sweet deserved at least a moment's attention.
"Besides, you two go looking for passages all over the castle," I added. "I'm allowed to look at a few jars."
"Fair comparison," Fred admitted.
I asked whether they knew any other ways out of Hogwarts. George said they did, though some were more convenient than others.
"One of them we only tried once."
"Why?"
Fred grimaced.
"Some discoveries don't need repeating."
This time, I didn't ask any more questions. Judging by his expression, I was happy to stick with the route to the sweet shop for now.
The trouble started a few seconds after we left the Three Broomsticks.
Fred stopped so abruptly that I nearly walked into him.
"Wait."
I looked over his shoulder.
Professor McGonagall was standing across the street.
Oh, shit.
She wore a dark green coat and a hat, with a small parcel tucked under her arm. She was talking to an older witch and looked considerably more relaxed than she ever did in class.
George caught my sleeve and pulled me against the pub wall.
"Don't stand out in the open."
I stepped back behind Fred. McGonagall didn't seem to have noticed us.
"We could go back inside," I whispered.
Fred glanced towards the door, but our teacher had just said goodbye to the witch and started down the street.
Towards Honeydukes.
George sighed.
"Of course."
"She's always had good taste," Fred muttered.
I looked at him.
"Can we appreciate it later?"
Zonko's was just round the corner. I pointed to the entrance.
"We'll wait in there."
Neither of them objected this time.
And that was how we ended up visiting the shop we supposedly no longer had time for.
If Honeydukes encouraged you to spend money on your own enjoyment, Zonko's mostly offered ways to make other people miserable.
Dungbombs lined one shelf. Another held soap that, according to the label, changed your skin colour every time you used it. Strange balls bounced inside a glass container, and something resembling an artificial tongue hung beside the counter.
I decided not to read the description.
Fred went straight to a small box.
"They've changed the packaging."
George examined the other side.
"Maybe it finally lasts until you open it."
"You've tested that?" I asked.
"The old version."
"And?"
"Filch wasn't impressed."
I wandered along the shelves until I found a little dragon. It stood beside an open box with its wings spread and a thin curl of smoke rising from its mouth.
"What does this do?"
George glanced over my shoulder.
"Flies round the room. You wind it up."
"That's quite good."
Fred picked up the box, checked the price and put it back.
"For that much, it ought to do more."
He did take a closer look at the dragon, though. He turned it over, examined its wings and wound the mechanism. The dragon flapped, rose above his palm and flew in a small circle.
George watched for a moment.
"Same flight every time."
"We could change that."
"Have it react to movement."
Fred caught the dragon before it hit a shelf.
"Write that down."
George took out his notebook.
I watched them with interest. In Honeydukes, they'd counted stock and checked prices. Here, a single object had been enough to get them talking about how they would make it differently.
They no longer seemed particularly interested in buying the dragon.
We left the shop about fifteen minutes later. The twins had picked up a few odds and ends, and I'd managed to look over most of the shelves.
There was no sign of McGonagall.
Fred checked both directions.
"Let's go back."
Honeydukes was considerably busier now. A family with several children occupied almost an entire aisle, and two people at the counter were arguing about who had been there first.
George went ahead. Before we could approach the stairs, he returned.
"Someone's in the cellar."
"An employee?" Fred asked.
George nodded.
"Packing boxes."
We stopped beside a shelf of chocolate. For a moment, we pretended to examine it, though all three of us kept glancing towards the back.
"Let's wait," I said.
Fred looked at the packet poking out of my pocket.
"Got a Chocolate Frog handy?"
"You're not using it as a distraction."
"I haven't suggested anything yet."
"Good."
George hid a smile behind his hand.
Before Fred could come up with anything else, footsteps sounded on the stairs. A man emerged carrying a crate. He squeezed past us, muttered an apology and headed for the counter.
We waited until he turned towards the customers.
George went first. Fred followed, and a few seconds later, I slipped onto the stairs as well.
In the cellar, we got straight to work. George moved a parcel away from the trapdoor, Fred opened it, and we began lowering the shopping into the tunnel.
It was less convenient than going the other way. We had to pass the bags down one at a time, and there wasn't much room around the opening.
I was reaching for the last few when a voice called from above.
"I'll fetch the rest!"
Fred looked towards the stairs.
George was already below us, steadying the shopping. I handed him a bag, turned for another and caught it on the corner of a wooden crate.
A box slid out of the open top.
I drew my wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
It stopped just above the stone floor. Fred caught it and shoved it into the bag.
"Come on."
I lowered myself into the opening. George helped me find a foothold between the parcels, and Fred climbed down behind me, carefully closing the trapdoor.
Footsteps sounded overhead.
I froze, gripping a bag strap to keep it from slipping. Fred sat on the step above me. George had his knee braced against one of the larger parcels.
The employee moved something across the floor. Wood scraped, then glass clinked.
I held my breath when the footsteps stopped near the trapdoor.
The man muttered to himself, picked up another box and finally headed back towards the stairs.
We waited a little longer.
Only when voices resumed upstairs did Fred slowly let out a breath.
"Made it."
I looked at him, then at George, who was still pinning an enormous bag of sweets against the wall.
I started laughing.
Quietly, because there was still a shop above our heads, but I couldn't help it. George grinned too, and Fred had to cover his mouth.
We'd nearly been caught because of a box of sweets.
"Do you really do this regularly?" I asked once I'd caught my breath.
"It usually goes more smoothly," George replied.
"Usually?"
Fred picked up the nearest bag.
"Let's move before we end up stuck here until closing time."
The return journey took longer.
Bags bumped against our legs, and in the narrower stretches, we passed the parcels along one at a time. Before long, I kept shifting mine from hand to hand.
Eventually, I put it down.
"Remind me what I'm getting for this."
Fred glanced over his shoulder.
"We invited you on a trip."
"The trip's getting heavy."
"You've seen Hogsmeade. Tried Butterbeer."
"Which I paid for. Yours too."
George laughed.
Fred considered that for a moment.
"True."
"I'm starting to think I'm your employee."
"We'd have to pay an employee."
I shook my head, though I was smiling too.
George reached into a bag and handed me a box of Chocolate Frogs.
"For saving the stock."
I examined it.
"That was worth more."
"We're opening with one box," Fred replied.
I pocketed the sweets and picked up the bag again. I didn't need their money, and I'd agreed to come willingly enough.
That didn't mean I was going to pass up the chance to give them a hard time.
At the statue, George climbed out first and checked the corridor. We passed him the shopping until, finally, we could climb out ourselves.
When the hump closed behind us, I straightened my back with relief.
Fred looked at the bags.
"Now we have to deliver it."
"Most of it today," George reminded him.
"Don't look at me," I said.
"We haven't even asked yet."
"I'm learning."
We headed towards the stairs. The twins discussed which orders they would deliver straight away and which could wait until morning. When they'd finished, I asked whether they always brought in nothing but sweets.
"No," George replied. "Things from Zonko's, supplies for our ideas. Sometimes someone needs potion ingredients."
"You can buy those."
"You can," Fred agreed. "But not everyone wants a whole packet when they only need a little. And sometimes they just can't be bothered to look."
"So you look for them?"
"For a reasonable fee."
I remembered the prices in Diagon Alley.
"Some things cost a fortune. Unicorn tail hair, for instance."
George raised his eyebrows.
"Depends where you get it."
I gave him a closer look.
Fred adjusted the bag on his shoulder.
"Sometimes you just need to know where to look."
"You go into the Forbidden Forest?"
"We never said that."
They both looked far too innocent.
This time, I let them keep their secret, though I didn't stop thinking about it.
We parted near the stairs to the dungeons. The twins took the stock I'd been carrying, leaving me with my own purchases.
"Any regrets?" Fred asked.
"About the trip? No."
George nodded, pleased.
"But next time, I want to see the list of things I'll be carrying first."
"That can be arranged."
I shook Fred's outstretched hand and headed for the common room.
Draco spotted me almost immediately.
"Finally. How long does it take to buy sweets?"
"A while, if you do it properly."
Blaise put down his book.
"Did you go to Zonko's?"
"We did."
Draco came closer.
"Well? Anything new?"
"A few things I'd rather not find in my bed."
I put the shopping on the table. Blaise reached for the beans he'd ordered, while Draco examined the other packets.
"Those are for you," I said, pushing the Chocolate Frogs and Pepper Imps towards him.
For a moment, he looked surprised.
"Oh. Thanks."
I settled into an armchair and began telling them about the trip.
I didn't reveal where the passage was. The twins had shown it to me; I wasn't about to start telling everyone how to find it. Besides, I had plenty of other things to talk about: Honeydukes, the little dragon, Butterbeer, and the sight of McGonagall that had suddenly made all three of us lose interest in walking down the middle of the street.
Draco asked about Zonko's. Blaise was more interested in how much stock we'd bought and whether the twins really had orders for all of it.
"Then a shop employee nearly caught you?" he asked when I'd finished describing the return journey.
"Nearly."
"That seems to be a very important word on these trips."
"I'm growing rather fond of it."
Draco opened a Chocolate Frog and caught it before it could jump under the table.
"I want to come next time."
"You'll have to talk to the twins."
He grimaced, but didn't immediately object.
Blaise popped a bean into his mouth, then put the packet down with a look of distaste.
"I'll wait to hear how the second trip goes."
That evening, I wrote down a few things I wanted to look up. The spells from the duel were still waiting, and after today, I had questions about magical sweets as well.
At the bottom of the parchment, I added one more word.
Unicorns.
For a while, I looked at it, turning the quill between my fingers.
Hair could get caught on branches. You wouldn't necessarily have to chase an animal through the Forest or try pulling at its tail. If the twins knew the right places…
I put down the quill.
I wasn't going to follow them into the trees just because they promised me something interesting. First, they'd have to tell me considerably more than "we know where to look".
Still, I didn't cross out the last item.
I wanted to ask them about it next time I had the chance.