I hate to be the author that puts notes at the top but I'd just like to welcome anyone that is new to this story. If you are here, you may not have noticed that I did the Philosopher's Stone as well and I highly recommend you read that one first. You don't have to but some things might not make a lot of sense. Either way, I hope you enjoy it.
At Flourish and Blotts
Harry was sitting comfortably at the Weasleys' table one morning, a week after he arrived by flying car, when three owls arrived. Mr Weasley was handing out identical envelopes of yellowish parchment.
'Letters from school,' he said. 'Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry- never misses a trick, that man.'
Harry unfolded his letter, which told him to catch the Hogwarts Express on September the first, and there was a list of new books that second years would require.
These were:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart
Ron caught Harry's eye and raised his eyebrows.
'This lot won't come cheap,' George frowned. 'Lockhart's books are really expensive…'
'We'll manage,' said Mrs Weasley. 'I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things second-hand.'
'Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?' Harry asked Ginny. She nodded, blushing tomato red and put her elbow in the butter dish. Just then Percy walked in, already dressed with his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his knitted vest top.
'Hang on, don't sit!'
Ron dived at the chair and pulled a moulting, grey owl from under Percy's bottom.
'You almost sat on Errol!'
Percy rolled his eyes and started on his breakfast.
'Finally- he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her ages ago.'
He dumped Errol on the draining board, where he dropped off to sleep.
'Pathetic,' Ron muttered before ripping open Hermione's letter and reading it aloud.
Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,
I hope everything went all right and that Harry is ok and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry's all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off. I think Castiel's new one is on her way to you. If she hasn't arrived already, maybe you can ask to borrow her. It might take a while, though, he lives in North Wales somewhere.
I'm very busy with school work, of course –'How can she be?' said Ron in horror. 'We're on holiday!'- and we're meeting Castiel in London next Wednesday. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?
Let me know what's happening as soon as you can, love from Hermione.
Just then a handsome tawny flew in, followed by a black barn owl, one landing in front of Mrs Weasley and the other in front of Ron. Ron groaned as he saw the tawny.
'Isn't that Mycroft's owl?' Percy asked. Mrs Weasley opened it and read it to them.
Dear Weasley family,
We are hosting a small dinner party this afternoon at four o' clock and we would be delighted if you could make it. Unfortunately we are a few guests short, so please feel free to invite whomever you would like. I would very much like for our children to get to know one another a little better.
Cordially yours, Mrs A. Holmes
'But it's not even Saturday,' Ron moaned.
'Behave, Ron, I think it's a brilliant idea- and we can bring Harry,' Mrs Weasley beamed.
'So, where does Sherlock live?' Harry asked curiously.
'They live in this huge house on the other side of the village- you can actually see it from my window,' Ron said miserably.
'Are you going to open your, or what?' Fred said to Ron.
'Oh, right.'
He opened it to reveal a neat, flowing script.
'It's from Castiel,' he said, passing the letter to Harry.
Dear Ron,
Hermione told me of your plans to rescue Harry from his family, though I realise by the time this reaches you he is likely to already be there- in which case I would like to introduce you both to my new owl. Her name is Grace; Gabriel bought her for me when he was made Prefect. The woman in the store said she's a rare kind of barn owl. I am meeting Hermione in London next Wednesday; perhaps you would like to join us. I hope you have all had a good summer.
Before you send Grace back, could you please let her rest? It's a long way to our house.
See you soon, Castiel.
Mrs Weasley rose from the table and glanced at the clock, which read eleven o' clock.
'Arthur, dear, are you coming?'
Mr Weasley looked up at her, blinking.
'What? Where?'
'To the Holmes's, later.'
'Oh, erm, I shouldn't think so, no, lots of paperwork…' he trailed off at the expression on Mrs Weasley's face and stared at his breakfast.
'Right, I want you all to get washed up and find your best clothes so I can clean them- yes that includes you, Fred.'
Fred grumbled something about wanting to play Quidditch, but he stomped upstairs with George, if only to avoid the wrath of Mrs Weasley. Harry and Ron turned to go.
'Oh, Harry, dear, have you got any smart clothes with you?' Mrs Weasley asked.
'Er…' Somehow he seriously doubted it.
'That's all right, I'm sure we can find you something,' Mrs Weasley smiled.
Harry smiled back and he and Ron climbed up to the very top of the house where Ron's room was. Harry squinted of the window at the village.
'So, which one's Sherlock's?' he asked. Ron snorted.
'The big one. It's a bit misty today so you might not be able to see it.'
Harry scanned all of the houses but couldn't see one likely to be Sherlock's.
'Don't worry, you'll see it later,' said Ron.
A few hours later, they were all lined up by the front door in freshly ironed clothes. Mrs Weasley had dug Harry up a nice pair of black trousers and a shirt that was slightly too big for him. The twins and Ron had their best jeans on- the ones with the least amount of rips in- but Percy had dressed up in his very best set of robes.
'He's trying to impress Mycroft,' Ron muttered. 'He got a job at the Ministry and now Percy won't stop sucking up to him.
'Right, I think that's everyone- let's go.'
Mrs Weasley led them down the dusty path until they came to the first quiet houses of the sleepy village. Despite the fact that there were quite a few of them, they made barely any noise as they walked along the pavement. On the other side of the village, Mrs Weasley turned them off onto a long driveway, shaded by tall, green trees. The drive wound round and curved back and forth.
'They had to build this driveway after the entire village had to have their memories modified,' George explained to Harry. 'He blew up the entire left wing of their house and it rained frogs that belched marshmallows for a week. Still not sure how he managed it.'
Finally, the driveway opened out and Harry's jaw dropped open. The biggest house he had ever seen reared up before him with a huge, neat lawn spread out beneath the ornate windows. It was all made of smooth, whit granite four stories high, with a few decorative eagle statues perched on the corners of the roof. Most of the windows were curtained closed, but the ones on the ground floor were thrown open. The front doors were made of two large slabs of solid oak, carved into the shaped of the Ravenclaw coat of arms. Suddenly, the doors opened and a very tall, very slim woman in flowing blue robes walked out. Her high cheekbones were thrown into sharp relief by the carefully controlled curls that framed her face.
'Good afternoon,' she said politely. 'Do come in.'
She led them through the double doors into a brightly lit hall with stairs leading to the upper floors.
'There are some things I must attend to, please feel free to make your way through to the living room. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Potter, my name is Amanda Holmes, I'm the boys' mother.'
She smiled stiffly and exited through a door to the left. Mrs Weasley pointed them through the one between the two sets of staircases. As they walked under the mahogany banister, Harry finally saw some evidence that Sherlock lived here. Scorch marks littered the otherwise perfectly polished banister and there were discoloured patches all over the shiny, wooden flooring.
The living room was large and luxurious, with thick green and blue carpets, matching curtains, and a huge, ornately carved fireplace- the mantelpiece the same mahogany wood as the banister outside. Ron and the twins immediately threw themselves down on the plush, powder blue sofas and Mrs Weasley sat herself in an armchair facing the fireplace. Harry and Percy hovered awkwardly by the door. A few minutes of silence passed before they heard the sound of Mycroft's voice drifting under the door. He seemed to be shouting at someone- most likely Sherlock. His voice got louder and louder until the door flew open and Sherlock walked calmly in, wrapped in nothing but a crisp, white bed sheet. He parked himself next to Ron on the sofa and waited.
Mycroft burst in thunderously, glaring and Sherlock.
'What on Earth is the matter with you?' he demanded.
'Nothing's the matter with me,' Sherlock replied airily.
'I've already told you, I'm picking up John in a minute, now what is the problem?'
'There is no problem.'
Mycroft groaned in irritation and rubbed his eyes.
'This is a very important afternoon and I'll not have you ruining it. Sherlock Holmes, put your trousers on!'
'What for?' Sherlock said sulkily. Mycroft made a noise somewhere between despair and exasperation and turned to leave.
'I'm going to get John, don't blame me if you embarrass yourself in front of him.'
He stalked huffily out of the room, slamming the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, Fred and George burst into laughter. Sherlock grinned and started laughing himself.
'So, come on, spill it. Why's this afternoon so important?' Fred asked Sherlock, who sighed.
'The Minister is coming for dinner and Mycroft wants to be promoted to his office,' he told them.
'Well then, you should get dressed,' Percy said sniffily. Sherlock turned his head towards Percy, eyes shielded by his messy hair.
'Or, I could not. You can sit down, Harry.'
Harry gratefully sat down on Ron's other side.
'Hang on a minute; I thought he only just started working at the Ministry. He can't be wanting a promotion already,' Ron said incredulously.
'Oh, believe me, he can,' Sherlock confirmed.
'You know, we could help Mycroft and give the Minister an 'extra special surprise',' Fred grinned.
'You will do no such thing,' Mrs Weasley said sternly.
'Oh, come on, Mum, Fudge is just an old, stuffed up git. He'll never even know it was us,' George moaned.
'Don't even think about it. He's your father's boos too, remember?'
The twins both flopped back in their seats, folding their arms.
'Don't look at me like that,' Mrs Weasley warned them. 'You two had better behave yourselves, or I'll take away your brooms until you go back to school.'
They rolled their eyes but uncrossed their arms, deciding not to cause trouble.
The door swung open again and Mycroft walked back in with a pale and dizzy looking John in tow.
'John, what's the matter?' Sherlock asked immediately. 'What did you do, Mycroft?'
Ron moved to sit by the twins so that John could sit next to Sherlock.
'Side-Along Apparition. It was his first time- he'll be all right in a minute,' Mycroft said curtly. Sherlock glared at him angrily. John cleared his throat, looked around the room and finally looked at Sherlock in confusion. He frowned at the sheet and Sherlock could practically hear the cogs turning in his head.
'Are you- wearing any pants?'
'No.'
John caught Sherlock's eye- what he could see of it- and they both burst into fits of giggles.
'When you've both stopped behaving like children-'
'But that's precisely what we are, Mycroft,' Sherlock smirked. 'I'm going back to my room, I'm bored.'
Sherlock rose from his seat and made for the exit, but Mycroft was too quick for him and stamped his foot firmly down on the end of the sheet, causing it to fall to his waist before he caught it.
'This is a matter of extreme importance for both myself and Mummy- grow up!'
'Get off my sheet!'
'Or what?'
'Or I'll just walk away.'
'Well I'll let you.'
'Boys, please,' Mrs Weasley finally interrupted.
'The Minister and everyone in his office will be here this afternoon, now for goodness' sake- put your clothes on!'
Sherlock scowled sulkily at Mycroft and stormed from the room. They could hear him stomping up the stairs.
When Sherlock returned he was wearing, smart, black robes and was accompanied by his mother.
'Please join us in the dining room,' she said, turning her heel and directing them back through the first hall and into a door just beyond the staircases.
The dining room was subdued, most of the long, ornate table was empty and the few guests there were, were clustered in the middle. To Harry's surprise and the Weasleys' disgust, Draco Malfoy was sat on the far side, beside a man with white-blond hair that could only be his father. Sherlock stomped to the other side of the table- as far from the Malfoys as possible- closely followed by John and the Weasleys. There was an elderly woman in deep purple robes beside Sherlock.
'Hello, Sherlock, it's lovely to see you, dear,' she smiled. Sherlock returned with his own, rare smile and put an arm around her.
'And you, Mrs Hudson,' he replied. Mrs Holmes made no move to introduce anyone, instead sitting down beside Mycroft.
'We're ready, Melly,' she called into the air. Harry looked around in confusion until a wide-eyed, little house-elf bounced into the room, carrying a silver tray of empty glasses in one hand and a stack of china plates with silver cutlery balanced on top in the other. She was wearing a smart, neatly pressed, powder blue dress. She squeaked when she saw Harry, setting down a plate, a glass and a set of cutlery in front of him. Sherlock chuckled at the expression on John's face. His jaw was hanging wide open as he watched Melly walking around the table.
'She's a house-elf,' Sherlock muttered to him.
'A house-elf?' he repeated.
'Yes. Most old wizarding families have one. They work for us.'
'Wow.'
Melly came up beside John and smiled at him, waggling her ears slightly.
'What would sir like to drink?' she asked in a squeaky voice. 'Melly can get sir pumpkin juice, butterbeer, or water. Or Melly can get sir a hot drink. Melly can make sir tea, coffee or hot chocolate.'
'Er…' John stammered.
'He'll have pumpkin juice,' Sherlock smirked. 'And I'll just have water, thank you, Melly.'
She curtsied slightly and went back round the table, asking everyone what they wanted to drink, before leaving the room. Low chatter began to spread out across the table, mostly amongst the Minister, Percy, Mycroft and the Malfoys. John didn't say much, following Sherlock's lead until Mycroft dragged them into the conversation.
'It is such a shame that the Edlunds couldn't make it,' he said loudly.
'Yes, well, since Lucy disappeared, I would assume they have better things to do than attend tedious dinner parties. What exactly is it you're doing about Lucy, Minister?' Sherlock asked coldly.
'Lucy disappeared,' John said.
'Yes, she did. After her somewhat dramatic exit, she never went home. It seems the Ministry hasn't sent anyone after her at all.'
'Ahem- yes, well there's, ah, not a lot we can do. American nationals and all…' the Minister blustered awkwardly.
'But the American Ministry won't do anything because she lives in Britain.'
'That's enough, Sherlock,' Mycroft said sternly.
Melly served them their first course of salmon and cream cheese, which everyone picked at without really noticing what they were eating, before their main course was brought out. A steaming, crispy duck on a silver platter was placed on the table and Mrs Holmes handed the Minister a carving knife.
'Would you like to do the honours, Minister?'
'It would be my pleasure,' he smiled. Sherlock rolled his eyes, Ron following suit.
'So, Lucius, is young Draco hoping to join our Ministry when his education is complete?' the Minister asked Mr Malfoy.
'That is the plan,' he replied, plastering a sickly smile across his pointed features.
'And what about Sherlock?'
'I wouldn't join the Ministry if it was the last job on Earth,' Sherlock scoffed before Mycroft could say anything. Duck was placed on everyone's plates, but no one touched it, as they were all now staring at the Minister, waiting for his reply.
'And why is that?' he asked Sherlock calmly.
'The Ministry is full of idiots and power hungry morons and none of them could be any less ineffectual in a crisis if they tried. It would be a waste of my intellect,' Sherlock said boldly.
'The Ministry would be too good for a Muggle-loving pinhead like you,' Draco Malfoy sneered from half way down the table.
'Draco-'
'Perhaps you could tell me how I love Muggles, seeing as I've never met one.'
'What are you talking about, there's one sat right next to you.'
Sounds of outrage burst from the Weasleys' end of the table, Mycroft put his head in his hands and Mr Malfoy hissed in Draco's ear. The babble died down and Sherlock glared at Draco.
'I'm warning you, Malfoy, if you ever so much as think about flapping those worms you call lips like that ever again, it'll be the last time you have lips.'
'Sherlock, that's enough-'
'Come, Draco, I think it's about time we left,' Mr Malfoy said coldly, rising from his chair.
'Yes, we should be going too, lots of work to do. Thank you for the wonderful dinner, Mrs Holmes.'
The Minister and all of the people that had accompanied him got up and followed the Malfoys out. Mrs Holmes gracefully excused herself while Melly cleared away the plates in front of the empty seats. Ron tucked into his food, finally able to enjoy himself. Mycroft groaned.
'Oh, don't sulk, Mycroft, you'll get the promotion,' Sherlock sniffed.
On the morning they were meant to be going to Diagon Alley, Mrs Weasley roused them early, fed and watered them and marched them in front of the fireplace. Mrs Weasley grabbed a flowerpot off of the mantelpiece and peered inside.
'We're running low, Arthur,' she told Mr Weasley. 'We'll have to get some more while we're out. Ah well, guests first, Harry!'
She passed him the flowerpot, which he stared at, mystified.
'What do I do?' he asked shyly.
'Harry's never travelled by Floo powder, before,' Ron piped up suddenly. 'Sorry, Harry, I forgot.'
'Never?' Mrs Weasley asked. 'How did you get to Diagon Alley before?'
'I went on the Underground-'
'Really?' Mr Weasley interrupted. 'Were there escapators?'
'Um-'
'Oh, not now, Arthur. Well Floo powder's quicker but if you've never done it before…'
'He'll be fine, Mum. Look, watch us, Harry,' said Fred. He took a pinch of the glittering powder, stepped up to the fireplace and threw it into the flames. With a roar, the flames turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right in and shouted, 'Diagon Alley!' and vanished.
Ron drifted off into a daydream as his parents explained to Harry how to use the Floo Network, barely noticing as George followed Fred up the chimney.
At last, Harry stepped into the fireplace and Ron winced as he started choking on the soot.
'D-D- Diagonalley,' he sneezed incomprehensibly.
'That wasn't very clear,' Ginny pointed out as he disappeared.
'No, it wasn't,' Mrs Weasley frowned. 'Go on, Ron.'
Ron threw the powder into the fire, stepped into it and shouted, 'Diagon Alley!'
He shot out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, right at Fred and George's feet.
'Where's Harry,' he heard Fred ask while he was dusting himself off.
'What do you mean?'
'I thought he was coming next,' said George.
'He was. He did. Must've got off at the wrong grate.'
Ginny flew out of the fireplace at them, followed by Percy and Mr and Mrs Weasley
'Ah. Thought this might have happened. He wasn't very clear…' Mr Weasley said as he helped Ginny up. Mrs Weasley looked horrified.
'I'm sure he's fine, Mum,' said George, pushing Percy over, who was still getting to his feet.
'We should have just brought him by broom-'
'Ron!'
John emerged from a shady corner of the pub, with a petite, blonde woman who was presumably his mother.
'Hey, John,' the all grinned.
'Good summer?'
They nodded and made noises of affirmative.
'Have you seen Harry?' Ron asked.
'No, is he here?'
'Dunno. Could be anywhere,' said Fred.
'Oh, come on, Mum, he's Harry Potter. He's not likely to be lost forever, is he?'
'Yeah, he'll turn up,' George reassured.
'He must be so frightened, the poor dear.'
'Don't worry, we'll find him,' Mr Weasley smiled. 'Right boys?'
The Weasleys made for the door and John hesitated.
'Don't worry, John, go with your friends. I'll be fine,' Mrs Watson smiled kindly.
John gave her a swift hug and said, 'I'll meet you at Gringotts,' before dashing off after the Weasley boys.
After racing up and down Diagon Alley a few times, they had still not found him.
'I think I should probably go and find my mum,' John panted.
'All right, we'll come with you,' said Ron. They walked back up towards Gringotts, when a skinny boy with dark, messy curls backed out of the Apothecary, examining a jar of newt eyes. John grinned, immediately recognising Sherlock Holmes. His hair now obscured the entire top half of his face, leaving only the end of his nose and his mouth in view.
'How can you even see past all that hair?'
'Ah, John, I wondered when you'd get here,' he said, looking up from his jar, a small smile playing upon his lips. 'Why are you all out of breath?'
'We lost Harry after he used Floo powder for the first time,' Ron explained. Sherlock looked at them in confusion.
'But he's just over there with Hagrid, Hermione and Castiel,' he said, pointing towards the foot of the white steps leading up to Gringotts. And indeed he was. Ron and the other Weasleys sprinted up to them. Mrs Weasley appeared as well, dragging Ginny along with her. John glanced about.
'Are you on your own?' he asked. Sherlock looked around vaguely.
'Mycroft's around here somewhere.'
He turned away and went to the others.
'Sherlock! John!' Castiel said delightedly. He had grown a few inches over the summer and was now almost as tall as Hermione. He had on his ever-present trench coat, though it did not drag on the ground so much anymore and the shadow of a bruise rested on his cheek.
'What happened to your face?' John asked. Castiel looked at him quizzically before touching the bruise lightly.
'This? I fell off my broom,' he said. 'It was my fault. I was not paying attention to my surroundings. Come, Gabriel is waiting for me inside.'
They entered the bank at the behest of a bowing goblin, into a long, white marble hall, where various parents and siblings were waiting to be introduced to one another.
'But you're Muggles,' Mr Weasley exclaimed delightedly, catching sight of Hermione's parents and John's mother. 'We must have a drink!'
'We should all meet back here,' Ron muttered as Mr Weasley led the Grangers and Mrs Watson out of the bank.
Everyone except John and Hermione were led underground by goblins. Castiel and Gabriel went to take a different cart to the rest of them.
'Our vault is quite close to the top, it's pretty new,' Gabriel explained before shooting off at breakneck speed. Harry greatly enjoyed his own cart ride, though Sherlock could think of several things he'd rather be doing and held tightly on to the rail.
First stop was the Weasleys' vault. Even Sherlock looked slightly uncomfortable as Mrs Weasley scooped the last few coins from their vault. Mycroft made a mental note to get Arthur Weasley a raise.
Next was Harry's vault. He hastily attempted to block the contents of his vault from view while he filled a bag with coins.
Finally, far underground, they came to the Holmes' vault. Larger than Harry had ever seen and when it was opened, he saw nothing but ribbon-tied rolls of parchment, stone slab-sized books and delicate, golden instruments. Mycroft disappeared inside and returned with a large, clinking bag full of coins.
At last, they returned to the surface, where Castiel took a grateful breath of fresh air.
'We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour,' Mrs Weasley said. Gabriel pressed a few coins into Castiel's hand.
'I have to make a stop at the Apothecary, so I'll get your things while I'm there, okay?'
Castiel nodded and Gabriel disappeared into the crowd. Mycroft also left in the direction of the Daily Prophet offices, closely followed by Percy, who still seemed eager to impress.
Left to their own devices, the group decided to sit down and get some ice cream while Sherlock regaled them with stories about things he'd blown up over the holidays. Once they were done, they wandered up the alley, looking at the things in all the shop windows. Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes blazing bright orange through the window of 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' until Hermione dragged them away to buy parchment next door. In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke shop, they ran into Fred and George and their friend Lee Jordan, who were busy stocking up on 'Dr Filibuster's Fabulous Wet Start, No Heat Fireworks'.
Finally, an hour had passed, so they headed for Flourish and Blotts, but, to their surprise, they saw a large crowd gathered outside the door trying to get in. The reason for this was spread across a large, brightly coloured banner stretched over the upper windows.
GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
today 12:30- 4:30
'We can actually meet him!' Hermione squealed. 'I mean, he's written most of the booklist!'
A harassed- looking wizard stood by the door, attempting to calm the crowd of witches down. They squeezed through the crowd, into the shop, where the queue wound right to the back of the building. They each grabbed a copy of Break with a Banshee and snuck up to where the rest of the Weasleys, the Grangers and Mrs Watson where standing.
'Oh good, you're all here,' Mrs Weasley said. 'We'll be able to see him in a minute.'
She sounded rather breathless and kept patting her hair. Castiel began to feel a little uncomfortable at the masses of people crushing in around him and jumped as a pair of hands placed themselves on his shoulders.
'Hey, it's just me,' Gabriel said softly. Slowly, Gilderoy Lockhart came in to view, surrounded by large photographs of himself, all winking and flashing their bright white teeth at them. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes. His pointed wizard's hat perched at a jaunty angle on the top of his head. Sherlock's mouth twisted at the sight of him.
A short, irritable man was bobbing around with a camera that kept emitting clouds of purplish-black smoke. He shoved Castiel roughly aside in his haste to get a good picture. Castiel tripped over Ron's foot and landed with a smack on the ground.
'Hey, watch what you're doing!' Gabriel yelled at the photographer, helping Castiel back up.
'Stand aside, this is for the Daily Prophet,' he said back stiffly.
'I'm fine, Gabriel,' Castiel mumbled, rubbing his arm. Gabriel shouted at the photographer again and caught Lockhart's eye. He saw Gabriel first, then Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, 'It can't be Harry Potter?'
The crowd parted, whispering excitedly and Lockhart dived for Harry, grabbed his arm and yanked him up to the front. Sherlock chuckled quietly to himself as Harry flushed bright red at having his picture taken. Lockhart threw an arm around Harry's shoulders, clamping him tightly to his side.
'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said loudly, waving for quiet. 'What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!
'When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography- which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge- he had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much ,more than my book, Magical Me. He and his fellow school friends will, in fact, be getting the real, magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure in announcing that, this September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!'
Sherlock gave a small cry of disgust, but no one but John heard him over the claps and cheers that followed the announcement. He watched on as Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart and staggered away to stand by Ginny and her new cauldron. John looked over his shoulder and saw a blond head that was unmistakably Draco Malfoy's shove his way towards them. He elbowed Sherlock and nodded his head towards them.
'I see them,' he said and slipped through the crowd to stand by their side, at which point, Harry and Hermione were gripping the back of Ron's jacket to stop him from attacking Malfoy.
'Ron!' said Mr Weasley, suddenly appearing behind them. 'What are you doing? It's mad in here, let's go outside.'
'Well, well, well- Arthur Weasley.'
It was Mr Malfoy, his slow, drawling tone making John's skin crawl. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder.
'Lucius,' said Mr Weasley coldly.
'Busy time at the Ministry, I hear,' said Mr Malfoy. 'All those raids… I do hope they're paying you overtime?'
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amongst the glossy Lockhart books that Harry had dumped in there, a very, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
'Obviously not,' he said. 'Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?'
John clenched his jaw and tried not to open his mouth, lest profanities come pouring out.
'We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy,' Mr Weasley said.
'Clearly,' said Mr Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to the Grangers and Mrs Watson, who were watching apprehensively. 'The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower-'
Mr Weasley threw himself at Mr Malfoy, knocking him backwards into a bookshelf. The crowd stampeded backwards, away from the falling books and very nearly knocking Castiel over again. Sherlock found himself suddenly gripped by cold fury. How dare he speak about John's mother that way? He began pelting large (and heavy) spellbooks at Mr Malfoy, much to the delight of Fred and George.
'Break it up there, gents, break it up-' Hagrid's loud voice called as he waded through the sea of fallen books. In an instant he pulled the two fighting men apart and John had to grab Sherlock's arm to stop him from slinging an Encyclopaedia of Toadstools.
'Here, girl- take your book,' Mr Malfoy said, thrusting Ginny's Transfiguration book at her. 'It's the best your father can give you.'
He pulled himself out of Hagrid's grip and dragged Draco from the shop. The rest of them soon followed, leaving Gilderoy Lockhart talking excitedly to a reporter.
'You don't think you could work that into the report, do you? It's all publicity, you know, although it's a pity those Winchester boys didn't turn up. That would have made the front page for a week…'
Outside, Mycroft had finally returned with Percy.
'Can John stay with us, Mycroft?' Sherlock asked suddenly. 'For the rest of the holidays?'
John gaped at him and Mycroft raised an eyebrow.
'Please, Mycroft?'
Mycroft hesitated, and then sighed.
'All right, I suppose so- If it's all right with Mrs Watson.'
John turned to his mother.
'Can I, Mum?'
She eyed him and folded her arms.
'On one condition,' she said. 'You come home for Christmas.'
John grinned widely.
'Deal!' he laughed, hugging her tightly. 'Tell Harry I said goodbye.'
'Of course I will. Now, how do I get out of here?'
John laughed again.
'We'll take you.'
Everyone walked back up to the Leaky Cauldron, where they said goodbye to each other, promising to write and wishing them a good rest of the holidays.
'I'll see you all soon!' Hermione waved, leaving with her parents.
'I'll be along for John's things later,' Mycroft informed Mrs Watson as, one by one, the Weasleys, Harry, Castiel and Gabriel disappeared in the fireplace in a roar of green flames. John hugged her again and watched her leave through the front door.
'Are we going by Floo powder?' John asked.
'Don't be ridiculous,' Sherlock snorted. 'We came by car.'
Hello everyone and welcome back!
First of all I'd like to apologise for how long I was away, but it was totally worth it because I GOT A PLACE IN MY FIRST CHOICE UNI DOING CREATIVE WRITING.
Second, I'd like to thank everyone who came back despite the hiatus and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm not going to guarantee that the chapters will be quicker in coming because I still have a lot of work to do in getting the qualifications I need for uni and right now the only time I have to write is while I'm traveling but I wanted this to be ready for christmas.
Remember to check the tags because I will update that as often as possible.
Happy Holidays everyone!
