Harry Potter and the Heartfelt Promise

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling. This is purely a work of fan fiction and no personal gain is coming from this story.

Warning: This story contains mature content and Homosexual content, if you don't like it then don't read it. You have been warned.

Chapter 2 ~ At Grimmauld Place

Harry collapsed onto the couch nearest the fireplace. He was so very tired. All the day's events kept buzzing round his head, like static. It wasn't fair that his grit determination seemed to be failing him now. If only he could go back to that morning before he'd arrived at the ministry, at least then he knew what he wanted to do with his life. The croaky voice from beside him made him jump.

"Would Master Harry like something to drink? Or eat?"

"Yeah, thanks Kreacher. I'll have a Butterbeer." Harry watched Kreacher shuffle off with a rush of affection. He and the old house elf had started to get on really well since Harry'd given Kreacher the locket. Since the defeat of Voldemort Kreacher had even gone so far as to clean the rest of Grimmauld Place.

He'd even helped Harry redecorate.

A butterbeer was placed in front of Harry and Kreacher left back for the kitchen. He had obviously been in the middle of cooking dinner. Closing his eyes and sinking back into the chair, Harry tried to let his mind wander. It was no good. The thoughts from the Ministry kept bouncing around, screaming for his attention. He was just about to sip his butterbeer when he heard something tapping on the window.

It was Pig. With a sigh of relief (anything to take his mind off things) Harry headed over to the window and let the little owl in. It hooted happily whilst he untied the message from its leg before resting quietly on the nearest table. The past year had subdued the grey owl significantly.

He read the message.

Dear Harry,

Ron and I were wondering how your first day of induction into Auror training went. It would also be nice to have a chat. We haven't seen you this week so it would be nice to meet up. I thought we could arrange something?

How about tomorrow at the Leaky Cauldron? Around lunch time would be the best time for us. Please reply as soon as you can and tell us if you can make it. If not, then give us the days and times you're available and we can go from there.

Lots of love,

Hermione

Harry let out a sigh of relief. Finally something to take his mind off the days events! Yes, now he could think about how he was going to relay all these emotions to Hermione and Ron, describe the events of today and tell them his doubts about becoming an Auror…? Somehow his joy seemed short-lived.

Still, it would be nice to see the two of them again. After the war at Hogwarts, Hermione had wasted no time in moving into the Burrow with Ron. After she had returned her parents' memories she and Ron had shared the happy news that they were a couple. It turned out Hermione's mum had already known they liked each other since their fourth year at Hogwarts.

At the moment they were saving up for their own place.

The Leaky Cauldron; it had been a while since Harry had been to Diagon Alley. Harry turned his head to look at the doorway to the kitchen. Kreacher was humming happily to himself. When was the last time Kreacher had ran an errand outside the house? This thought struck Harry.

If there was any reason Kreacher would find appropriate to leave Grimmauld Place now, it was to run an errand. Maybe Harry could make tomorrow a good day out for Kreacher too. Although not too long, Kreacher was quite old, so it possibly wasn't a good idea to have him running round all day. If he walked with Harry, he could find some odd simple jobs for Kreacher throughout part of the day. That would be a good outing for the old house elf.

As for Diagon Alley Harry needed to make a list of things to buy. He didn't need much, but there were a few items he could do with. Putting down the letter, Harry hurried over to the table on which Pig sat and pulled a piece of paper and a quill from one of the draws. First, he wrote a quick reply to Hermione:

Dear Hermione,

Thank you very much for your letter, I'd love to see both you and Ron. Tomorrow at the Leaky Cauldron sounds great; I'll meet you there at 1pm.

I'm bringing Kreacher to help me with buying a few things. It's just to get him outside for a day, so please don't complain.

Lots of Love,

Harry

P.S. I think it's about time I bought a new owl. Will you come to the shop with me at the end of the day for support? You know how much I loved Hedwig.

There, that should do it. Harry tied the letter to Pig's leg and sent him off through the window. He watched the owl fly off a little nervously. That last sentence had taken a lot of effort to write, but it was about time he bought a new owl. For the past year he'd had to rely on other people's owls, apparition and floo powder to communicate with people. Hedwig's death had been pretty hard for him to swallow.

Still, the timing seemed right.

Harry grabbed another piece of paper from the draw and began to write up a list of things he needed to buy. There might probably even be a few things he just wanted, but they would have to wait 'til the day. Hmmm, let's see. First he needed some money from Gringotts since the supply he usually carried with him was starting to get low. He also needed… Urgh. New dress robes. But it had to be done; he had grown about 2-3 more inches in the past year.

Apart from that, Harry couldn't think of anything else apart from some more quills, ink and parchment. And obviously the new owl. He was sure that this wouldn't be too much for Kreacher, and decided to try and arrive at Diagon Alley at about 11am. That would give him two hours to buy the things he needed and take a good look around before Ron and Hermione showed up.

He walked into the hallway carrying the list and placed it on the table by the front door. At least that way he couldn't forget it. He returned to the living room and switched on the muggle television (there were some things he did miss from his muggle life in Privet Drive when he became a wizard) and switched to the local news channel awaiting the weather report.

It wasn't long before it started, and the muggle weather lady began to describe tomorrow as bright and sunny, with warm breezes and not a cloud in sight. Harry mentally made a note not to wear a coat, but a long sleeved top in case she was wrong. At least he could roll the sleeves up if she happened to be right.

When the report ended he switched to a different channel to watch a new muggle show that he'd rather taken a fancy to. About halfway through Kreacher entered the room to announce that dinner was ready, so he turned the television off and headed for the dining room. After eating and thanking Kreacher for the meal, Harry asked Kreacher to go with him to Diagon Alley.

"Of course, Master Harry." The house elf bowed.

"Thanks Kreacher, there are a few things I need some help with buying tomorrow. I'm planning to get there around 11, so we should be ready to Apparate outside the Leaky Cauldron at about 10 minutes to." He watched the elf bow again before leaving to clean the kitchen.

Harry had given them an extra ten minutes for the inevitable. Since becoming the saviour of the wizarding world, more witches and wizards stopped him to shake his hand than they had during his first ever visit to Diagon Alley. They were going to need two hours to buy the few items he needed if he wanted to take a look round as well. Still, it was going to be a good day out.

Harry could just feel it.

Notes: Draco returns in the next chapter! Yay! I hope the storyline becomes clearer when he does, this chapter was mainly to set more things up. Constructive criticisms are greatly welcomed; but please, no flames. Please leave a comment!