Daughter of Mine | Harry Potter

VIII.

She saw her second Quidditch match right before December came. Harry wasn't playing, but he did watch with her as her house beat Hufflepuff, giving Gryffindor another chance at the cup. He was right that this game was much more enjoyable.

The last few weeks of the term passed quickly. Everyone was going to Hogsmeade again except Harry and Lalia.

They bid good-bye to Ron and Hermione and started heading to Gryffindor tower, where they had decided to hang out.

"Psst - Harry!"

They both turned and saw the Weasley twins peering out at them behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch.

"What are you doing?" said Harry curiously. "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go," said Fred, with a mysterious wink. "Come in here ..."

They went into the empty classroom next door.

"Early Christmas present for you, Harry," George said.

Fred pulled a piece of worn parchment without words from the inside of his cloak.

"What's that supposed to be?"

"Oh, is this all just some elaborate joke?" Lalia asked.

"No, now be quiet. You're only here because we think Harry will take you with him once we give it to him," Fred said, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"This, Harry, is the secret of our success," said George, patting the parchment fondly.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you," said Fred, "but we've decided last night, your need's greater than ours."

"Anyway, we know it by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"And what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" said Harry.

Lalia giggled at the adorable way his eyebrows furrowed.

"A bit of old parchment!" said Fred, closing his eyes with a grimace as through Harry had mortally offended him. "Explain George."

"Well ... when we were in our first year, Harry - young, carefree, and innocent -"

Harry snorted.

"You two were never innocent," chuckled Lalia.

"- well, more innocent than we are now - we got into a spot of bother with Filch."

"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason -"

"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual -"

"-detention -"

"- disembowelment -"

"- and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

"Don't tell me -" said Harry, grinning.

"Do you even have to ask?" Lalia rolled her eyes.

"Well, what would you've done?" said Fred. "George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open and grabbed - this."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know," said George. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?"

"Oh yes," said Fred, smirking. "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."