Harry Potter and the Sorceress of the Stars

"So, how's business lately?" Oleandra asked distractedly, as she eyed a collection of assorted fireworks. "Think you'll have Gambol and Japes out of business by the end of the fiscal year, or…?"

After buying some seeds at the botanical goods store for Herbology class and purchasing some ingredients at the apothecary for Potions class, Oleandra had been done with her shopping, since Ron's parents had already purchased on her behalf the schoolbooks on her list. 

However, her shopping trip hadn't ended there— since she was on rather good terms with the Weasley twins, she had decided to follow the rest of the group to pay a visit to Fred and George, who had set up a joke item shop on Diagon Alley.

"You'll have to talk to Mergers & Acquisitions about that," said Fred Weasley with a knowing wink. "And don't tell anyone, but we were also thinking about acquiring Zonko's in Hogsmeade as well…"

"I'm the head of that particular department, by the way," added George. "And I also moonlight as caretaker, just in case one of our customers decides to sample a Puking Pastille while still on the premises…"

The novelty of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes had attracted a throng of customers— the shop was full to bursting with children and their parents, milling about the shop and admiring the flashy displays.

"Where's Lee?" asked Astoria curiously. "I haven't seen him around."

While the Weasley twins' shop certainly appeared successful now, their target audience were the teenagers who attended Hogwarts, who'd be spending most of the year (as well as most of their money) far away from London.

Oleandra just couldn't understand how Fred and George intended on making money outside of the summer months— not to mention that setting up shop here had put them in direct competition with Gambol & Japes, who were in the same line of business and already firmly established in Diagon Alley…

"Ah," said Fred, his smile faltering. "About that…"

Since Astoria was also in Gryffindor, she'd often witnessed the three friends plotting their next prank together in the common room or coming up with ideas for a new joke item. She'd overheard them talking about setting up a joke shop together, but Lee Jordan was nowhere in sight…

"We parted ways due to irreconcilable differences," said George impassively. "It turns out that the joke shop business is much more cutthroat than we'd initially thought, but Lee just wasn't ready to commit to doing what was necessary to stay afloat."

Now, Oleandra's interest was piqued— she had always enjoyed juicy gossip.

"Oh, really?" she asked the twins. "Like what, for example, pray tell?"

"Nothing sordid, if that's what you were thinking," said Fred, who looked like he wanted to change the subject. "It's just that the initial investment that Harry loaned us to start our business ran out pretty quickly during product development, so we were forced to use what we learned from you to develop protective equipment for the Ministry."

Now, Oleandra could finally understand where their funding came from— they had managed to land a defence contract with the Ministry of Magic. Lee's vision of what a joke shop ought to be had been too pure for the harshness of reality, and as a result, he had chosen to part ways with the Weasleys.

(There was also the fact that becoming a defence contractor had scared him a little— the Ministry's greatest opponent was the ruthless You-Know-Who, after all.)

"Shield hats, shield gloves, shield cloaks," George enumerated. "You name it, if it's an article of clothing, we've got it."

"Here, we'll show you," added Fred cheerfully. "Now, if you'll just follow us to the WonderWitch section…"

Fred and George simultaneously dropped into an overly exaggerated and dramatic bow with their arms spread wide, looking as if they'd practised the movement a thousand times together in front of a mirror, before quickly straightening out their upper bodies and briskly striding over to a painfully pink section of the shop near the windows, towards which Ginny and Hermione had already gravitated.

"Protective lingerie?" said Ginny bemusedly, noticing her older brothers and the Greengrass sisters approaching. "Now I've really seen it all…"

Hermione yelped in surprise and hastily stuffed a black and pink lace brassiere back where she had found it, her face quickly becoming as pink as the drapes delineating the WonderWitch section.

"Find something to your liking?" asked Fred, ever the salesman. "As you can see, we've also got a broad selection of Love Potions in stock— just a drop, and you'll have even the densest of boys throwing themselves at your feet…"

Oleandra ignored the Love Potions, since she already had a girlfriend, and checked out the lingerie. Would Tracey like to see her wearing something racy? A little voice in the back of her mind told her that she would— that is, if she could even find her.

"So, how about it, Hermione? A Love Potion or two to help things along?" said George tantalisingly, before glancing at his sister. "Though we're not selling any to you, Ginny."

"Even though it sounds like you'd desperately need one, judging by your track record," added Fred. "You know, even though Ron's on the verge of setting a new world record for longest time without a girlfriend, it doesn't mean that you have to follow in his footsteps."

Ginny harrumphed and stalked away— Hermione gave the Weasley twins a reproachful look, before hurrying after Ginny to comfort her, nearly bumping into Ron, who was carrying an armful of boxes.

"Hold up, where do you think you're going with those?" Fred cried out his little brother. "There's no way you have enough money to buy all of those, so let's see the Galleons first!"

Oleandra's own purse had considerably lightened since her earlier years at Hogwarts— her Triwizard winnings were nearly all gone, and with her father missing and her mother incapacitated, she couldn't withdraw any more of the family fortune from the Greengrass's Gringotts vault.

"These Puffskeins are really cute," said Astoria, her voice filled with longing. "Can you buy me one, Oleandra…?"

Oleandra and Astoria continued browsing the shop, whiling away the time as they waited for the others to finish their shopping, but after a few minutes, Mrs. Weasley came shuffling towards them, looking as though she were about to have a nervous breakdown.

"Girls, have you seen Ron, Harry and Hermione?" said Mrs. Weasley anxiously. "I've looked everywhere, and I just can't find them!"