The months before the start of school was a sight to be seen. Parents walked in and out of stores, wands, robes, and books in hand, hurrying to get home. After all, school shopping wasn't exactly what people looked forward to doing.

Most often, Diagon Alley was swarmed with children and teens, pulling each other to that store, or this store, distracted by the colorful ads, never really stopping to actually buy what they need. It was all rather inefficient, really, and nothing ever got done.

Which was why, Harry supposed, Ginny found the need to floo into the Leaky Cauldron, and promptly turn around to set the rules and regulations.

"Listen," Ginny said sternly, "we get in, get what we need, and then get out." She ticked this off on her hand, putting a finger down. "We won't buy anything we won't need." She ticked off another finger.

James groaned, and Harry knew exactly what he was thinking. He knew that James had been eying for a while a new broom that had just recently came out, and if he didn't get a chance to buy it, this whole trip was a waste for him. Harry practically had to force him to come, as James saw no need for it as his schooling was done and over with, but Harry insisted that it was 'a family thing, and tradition can't be broken!'

It couldn't be denied, Harry loved going shopping with his family despite the number of people that crowded Diagon Alley in haste. It was something he could look forward to, the one thing in his hectic year that was reassuring and just there, apart from Christmas, and maybe Easter.

Though, the same couldn't be said for his other two children, which were going back to school, come September.

Lily was disinterestedly inspecting her nails, though she glanced up at Ginny every few seconds. Al, on the other hand, had crossed his arms, and wasn't even attempting to pay attention as Lily was.

Harry frowned. He didn't really know what was up with Al. He had been acting this way for most of summer, not really lashing out, yet he was inactive in the things that were going around him. Hell, it had even been a chore to get Al out of bed, and Al had done so grudgingly. Maybe this was his way of 'lashing out,' as he had called it, by following along them, but not participating.

But it wasn't up to Harry to determine those things, as he'd never even gotten Al's side of the story. He couldn't pass judgement on it; he was, after all, just one person, and a very biased one at that.

"Harry?" Ginny called, frowning, a hand on her hip, and crossing one leg behind the other. She looked effectively irritated.

Harry snapped out of his concerning thoughts, and flashed a smile at her, hoping she wouldn't notice he had gotten roped into the thoughts of his mind.

Ginny sighed. "You weren't paying attention were you?" Damn. "Whatever, we'll talk later. It's time we start shopping. People are starting to notice us." She threw a glare at the people who were trying to subtly observe them, but failing.

Lily whipped her head around, and did the same. Like mother, like daughter. Or maybe like father, like daughter. It was no secret that Harry hated the fame he came with.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, warily eying the Leaky Cauldron crowd. He pushed Al, James, and Lily along. "We'll go to Flourish and Blotts first, and then Madame Malkin's. I don't know if you noticed, but I think Lily's grown at least four inches."

Shopping for school supplies was just as tiring as predicted. Flourish and Blotts was teeming with people, to the point that even the store clerks seemed to be in a rush to fulfill everyone's orders and the occasional demand to find a particular book.

Al and Lily had to practically push and elbow through, all while fending off the people that naturally were attracted to their presence. What should have taken about half an hour took more than an hour and a half, by which time Harry was tired from standing around. He was getting old, if that was all it took to tire him out.

Madame Malkin's was, thankfully, a lot less busy. The group of first years entering Hogwarts this year was significantly smaller compared to last year, or to the year before that one.

But Madame Malkin seemed to think otherwise, as she was flitting around from person to person, running around nimbly, which was impressive for a woman of her age.

Harry did catch sight of Headmistress Chang at one point, though for what reason, he didn't know. Perhaps she was introducing a muggleborn to the Wizarding World, which was more likely than the possibility of her being here by herself.

After that little incident, buying robes had gone smoothly, nothing like what it was in Flourish and Blotts.

The con of this was that now they were left with nothing else to do, as even with the long wait in the bookshop, the family had finished shopping early.

Ginny spoke up first, side eying her children. "Have any ideas of where to go now?"

Almost immediately, James piped up, "Quality Quidditch Supplies," except it came out so fast it didn't even sound like the words they were meant to be. And yet, everyone knew James' intentions, and the first reaction came out of Al: a snort, and then a ghost of a smile.

Harry stared at it for a moment. Well. It was something. If only Harry could get it to look less empty, and a lot bigger, maybe.

Lily rolled her eyes, but she agreed anyways, though not for the reasons that Harry would've liked. Lily abhorred quidditch, as did Al, but she seemed to have gained a sudden affinity for the quidditch store after a new employee joined not too long ago in the summer.

When Harry had noticed that Lily took a liking to the new girl that worked there, he wasn't exactly the happiest, knowing in his heart of hearts that girls could be just as cruel and callous as boys could. He still believed that Lily was too young to be dating, but in truth she had probably became interested in girls when she was thirteen, and started dating them at fourteen.

But he didn't mention her not so subtle crush, as he knew that Lily would make a scene of it (she did have a tendency for the dramatics—wonder who she got that from), so he decided to trust her judgement and just be there for the heartbreak, should it ever occur.

His sons, on the other hand, were not as receptive to their hormones as Lily was. Al preferred his art over everything, and James had his mind a bit too deep in quidditch to notice the girls around him.

Which was evidently why Harry was dragging himself along beside James, who was rushing to go to his favorite store.

Harry had to admit, he was the slightest bit interested in the new seeker gloves plus snitch set that Firebolt had recently set out; though he might not ever use them except for the occasional game of family quidditch, they were nice to look at.

Entering the quidditch store, he walked over to where the seeker gloves set would be, and Ginny followed suit. Coincidentally, Al and Lily ended up in the same aisle as them. Looking closer, Lily seemed a little put off by the fact she couldn't find the girl she was enamored with.

Harry gave the slightest of shrugs, and inspected the sets in front of him. A few moments later, after quiet from Ginny, she spoke. "They're nice, aren't they?"

Harry hummed in agreement. Clearly, Ginny had something else she wanted to talk about, but didn't really want to dive in just yet. It must be serious.

"When would you ever use them?" she asked curiously.

"Probably not ever," Harry replied, playing along. "But they're just nice to look at."

It was Ginny this time who hummed. A moment later, she asked softly, so as to not let Al and Lily hear in, "What's on your mind?"

Harry froze, despite knowing the question was coming. He continued inspecting the set, and then said, "Lily likes a girl. I still think she's too young."

Ginny leaned on the shelf on her shoulder—a bad idea really, everything could tip over—and raised an eyebrow at him. "That's nothing new. What else?"

Harry sighed inwardly. "It's Al."

"I see." Translation: explain.

"He's been acting off all summer and I can't seem to put my tongue on why," he said quietly, frowning more and more with each word. He really did hate not knowing what was going in his children's lives. Of course, it was unrealistic to expect his children to tell them everything, but he liked to have at least a vague idea; was that too much to ask for?

Harry hoped Al trusted Ginny and him enough to finally come out with it, whatever it was. The thought that Al might not trust them actually hurt his heart, more than he ever thought it would.

Ginny sighed, and turned away. "I know."

Harry was probably supposed to be relieved that Ginny agreed, that he was not alone in his observations, but no such feeling came. All he felt was a growing sense of dread, and he couldn't fall into the delusion of 'it's just me being an idiot' anymore.

Dwelling too much on the topic made his worries go on overdrive, so he resolved to keep out of his mind at least until the end of the day. It probably wasn't the best idea, but the day was actually going somewhat okay. He just hoped that Al and Lily won't—

"AL! Come on, we're leaving, James is done here!"

Harry sighed. He knew what was coming; one of Al and Lily's passive-aggressive fights. They were thankfully, not a result of Al's behavior, but rather a common staple in his life. Al and Lily's relationship had always been the strangest. They were siblings, yes, but sometimes they oscillated between being attached to the hip, or denying that they were even related. Harry had never known the feeling; Ron and Hermione could be considered his siblings, but they had been friends first, so fights cropped up significantly fewer times.

Al and Lily approached Harry, and he raised an eyebrow. Ginny looked between the two of them, and then asked, "You two okay?"

Immediately, Lily dismissed it. "Oh, yeah. Of course. Just us being… us." Her face twisted at the strange structure of the sentence. She smiled reassuringly. "We're fine. Nothing to worry about."

Ginny laughed, and shook her head. "Okay, let's get James and leave, yeah?"

As soon as Ginny had uttered the words, James had joined them once again.

"Perfect timing, we're leaving," Ginny told James. James shrugged, and made to move out the entrance of the door.

Al lagged behind, dragging his feet. Noticing this, Harry waited for him, and then asked, "Anything up?"

Al looked at him curiously, and then averted his gaze to what was in front of him. Seeming to decide on something, he asked Harry, "Can we go to Eeylops?"

Harry thought on it for a quick moment, and then smiled at him. Al smiled back at him, though still a bit tentative.

"Hey—wait! Ginny!"

Ginny stopped abruptly in front of him, corralling James and Lily back towards her. She stared at him, puzzled.

Smile still on his face, Harry told them, "Al wants to go to Eeylops. Is that okay?"

James gave Al an inquisitive look, and then shared a look with Lily. Both having come to a conclusion, James nodded, and Lily shrugged indifferently.

Ginny nodded her assent. She waited for Al and Harry to catch up, and took Al's hand in hers.

Harry was pleased to note that Al had squeezed her hand in response (these are the things he noticed these days—wow).

The walk to Eeylops was not far, for it was only a few stores away from the quidditch store they were just in. As soon as the pet store came in sight, Al sped his walk up into jog, and then a run. Harry smiled a bit; at least Al was excited for this.

As soon as Harry entered the store, he was hit with the scent of fur and something similar to a pigsty. Cats were meowing, owls were hooting, and toads were croaking. Other pets were making noise as well, and it was an assault to the ears. Harry winced but stayed anyways, waiting for Al in a small corner, with Ginny following along.

Ginny yawned, and Harry instinctively followed.

"Tired?" Harry asked, turning to look at her. Looking closer, he noticed that Ginny had the faintest trace of purple under her eyes.

"Yeah," Ginny answered, yawning again. "Stayed up late working on an article for Quidditch Weekly."

"About the game that happened last Saturday?" It was interesting game between the Montrose Magpies and the Holyhead Harpies. Ginny was there as a previous alumnus, and Harry and James tagged along for fun, while Al and Lily stayed home.

"Yep," Ginny answered, now leaning her head on Harry's shoulder and closed her eyes. Harry took this as his cue to end the conversation, and merely observed the pet store for the mean time. It wasn't long before Al approached the two of them, a white furred cat with blue eyes in his arms. It's tongue stuck out as if its mouth didn't have enough space for it, and had a smushed face.

Harry wanted to frown, but instead wore a smile on his face.

Al stopped in front of them and looked at Ginny, asking, "Is mum alright?"

Ginny opened her eyes at this, and nodded.

"Anything you want?" Harry asked, eyes on the cat.

Al nodded, and held up the cat in his arms.

Now Harry really couldn't keep in his frown, and shared a look with Ginny. It wasn't much of a secret that he wasn't a fan of cats; they shed everywhere and they weren't very nice to him. A few nasty encounters came to mind, especially with Crookshanks. That old cat was still around, living in Ron and Hermione's house, though he was much less active due to age.

He looked at Al's pleading face and the summer that was spent quietly. Somewhere along the way, Al stopped singing when he washed dishes, did chores, or made art at the dining table (Harry and Ginny had told him time and time again to take it to his room, to no avail), and Harry missed it a lot.

He shared another look with Ginny, and reached a decision.

"What will you name it?" Harry asked casually, and Al smiled so wide that Harry's breath almost caught in his throat.

Ginny eyed it like rare creature—which Harry supposed these days that it was—and murmured, "There's the smile that I love so much," and Harry agreed wholeheartedly.

Al seemed to have heard, and flushed red, but continued smiling, and answered, "Artemis."

"Pretty name," Harry commented, shifting his weight off the wall, and walking towards the register. He paid for the cat. Apparently it was a rare breed of Persian and kneazle, so he had to pay a little bit extra.

The three of them walked outside where James and Lily were waiting, and walked to Leaky Cauldron, where they would floo home.

Harry wasn't sure of most of the things he had done in his life, but of these two things he was sure of: to find out what was wrong with Al—if anything was wrong in the first place—and to give reasons to make Al smile more. Regardless of what Al was going through, it was one hell of a pretty smile.

Damn I wish I could write like this for the entirety of Miracle because this is one of the best pieces of writing I've churned out in a while. Also, Al's name for the cat and its appearance is a vague reference to Artemis from Sailor Moon, which belongs to Naoko Takeuchi.