Disclaimer: I don't own it
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
A/N: This story is AU after HBP, the war went on a lot longer, and a lot of things happened very differently from DH, though I may include concepts and characters from DH. There is also SLASH in this story, you have been warned!
APPLEBY
CHAPTER THREE
Diagon Alley was relatively quiet, the cold air discouraging shoppers from venturing out. Seamus arrived at the apparition area ahead of Harry and only had to wait a moment before the other wizard appeared, alert and completely aware of his surroundings.
"Shall we just wander for a bit? See who we run into?" Seamus offered, wanting to give Harry a chance before dragging him to visit their friends. Even without mentioning it, he could see that Harry wasn't comfortable about visiting others. Nodding, Harry led the way down the street, his appearance confident, if a little expressionless.
The pair spent half an hour making their way down the alley, browsing a few stores as they went but mostly just walking and making small talk. Seamus could sense Harry was relaxing, and was glad for it.
Harry felt very self-conscious; a part of him was watching each passer-by, judging the possible threat they posed, as well as examining their expressions and wondering what they thought of him. He knew it was irrational to think they were all criticising him in their minds; yet it felt as though each person was judging him and finding something wrong. The young wizard tugged lightly on his robe as he commented briefly to Seamus on the storefront display for Quality Quidditch Supplies, desperate not to let his nerves show.
"Harry!" A shout went up from down the alley, turning many heads in the vicinity. The wizard in question whirled around, wand in hand, before visible flinching when he saw who it was. He sighed imperceptibly and put his wand back in his holster, he had thought he had tempered his reactions from the war when any sudden sound would set him off. Harry blamed it on having been on edge all morning.
"Fred, George." Harry said in greeting, a smile pasted onto his face as the energetic twins approached. He felt Seamus place a supportive hand on his back briefly, but stepped away from him, out of habit for having kept their relationship private around friends, and also not wanting either the Weasley twins or Seamus to think him weak. "How's business?"
"Business is booming, Harry," answered George, grinning as the four wizards stood in the middle of the Alley.
"We're in the middle of planning the opening for the Hogsmeade store," Fred chimed in, "Zonko's is getting worried." Seamus and Harry both laughed at the identical grins the twins sported, even if Harry's was more of a chuckle than a full out laugh.
"So, Seamus;" George began, "good to see you back in England."
"Did you get sick of the colonies?"
"The American accents?"
"The Starbucks on every corner?"
"Donuts?"
"How could he get sick of donuts George?" Fred asked with a mock expression of horror, "nobody can get sick of donuts!"
"Okay, so not the donuts." The other twin conceded as Seamus snickered, happy to hear the twin act again after going without it for a while. "Speaking of donuts, you have to come see our latest product!"
Fred pulled Seamus aside as George towed Harry down the street towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. "Whatever reason, it's good to see you back! And you got Harry to the Alley; he hasn't been visiting the store much recently, and both George and I are a bit worried about him."
Looking at Harry and George, Seamus frowned; he didn't want to betray Harry's apparent trust in him by talking about him too much, but he didn't want Harry to be alone. "I'm worried too Fred; something's not right with him, and even though I've only been back a short while I can see he's been depressed. I'm staying with him, so I'm going to try to talk to him and figure out what's wrong."
"Anything George and I can do?" Fred asked as they followed the other two slowly towards the store, sounding even more concerned than before. "Or any of the other Weasley's, we can rally the whole family together."
Seamus smiled at the idea of the entire Weasley clan descending on Harry, "I don't think so; he needs to get back into things a little more before he can handle you lot. I'll let you know though."
"Thanks, Seamus. We want our Harry back." They entered 93 Diagon Alley and watched as George demonstrated several products for an overwhelmed looking Harry.
"So do I," muttered Seamus softly as the object of his concern was standing stiffly by the counter watching George half-heartedly.
Fred obviously noticed Harry's discomfort as well, sighing dramatically as he stepped up to the counter. "I'm terribly sorry, Harry, but I'm going to have to steal your entertainer. We have a business meeting at Gringotts this afternoon and we have a lot of preparation to do."
Harry seemed oblivious to George's confusion at this statement, and barely even noticed when he winced at an elbow from Fred. When the twins had disappeared into the back of the store, Seamus came to stand next to Harry.
"You alright there?" He asked softly. "Should we head off and grab an early lunch at the Cauldron?"
"Yeah, sure." Harry's response was distant, and Seamus waited for the younger wizard to pull himself together before heading out of the store.
o
Ron was huddled into a warm Chudley Cannons cloak (thankfully for everybody else's fashion sense the only orange was the team's emblem on the breast) as he pushed open the door to Quality Quidditch Supplies. The store wasn't very busy, even though it was the Easter holidays, with only two customers browsing, and a rather bored looking sales assistant reading a Quidditch magazine at the counter. Ron approached the counter and waited for the assistant to notice him. When it became obvious the young wizard was incredibly unobservant, he gave a small cough, startling the young assistant so badly he dropped his magazine on the floor behind the counter.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!" He said, flustered and stammering a bit more as he turned red with embarrassment. "How can I help you?"
Ron smiled, not having the heart to get annoyed at the young wizard who looked as though he was a fifth year. He noted that the boy's nametag read Lachlan. "Is William in?"
Lachlan appeared even more flustered when Ron asked for the owner, "uh, Mr Watkins is on a break at the moment; he should be back soon, can I help? I could take a message?"
"Just tell him Ron Weasley stopped by." Ron turned to leave the store when the assistant jumped up.
"Wait, you're Ron Weasley? The Ron Weasley?" Lachlan appeared to be beginning to hyperventilate and Ron prepared himself for another 'Harry Potter's best friend' rave, "I can't believe I'm meeting you! You fought against Voldemort; you were one of the best strategists on our side! Mr Watkins told me you led a squad on broomsticks against the vampires, he said you used Quidditch moves to defeat them! And Mr Watkins showed me some of your games at Hogwarts; he said you were a brilliant Quidditch strategist too!"
It was Ron's turn to be flustered as he was more than a little taken aback by the boy's enthusiasm for him, and very surprised that Harry's name hadn't come up at all. Ron knew William Watkins thought him to be a good Quidditch coach, but hadn't realised he'd been telling stories to his young staff. "Uh, yeah, I am. I did … I mean … yes?"
Thankfully Lachlan didn't notice Ron's lack of eloquence as he was rushing round, muttering about finding a quill and parchment. He came back a moment later, a hesitant grin on his face as he held a quill out.
"Um, would you mind giving me your autograph? Please?" Ron couldn't bear to say no to the eager young wizard, even if he had wanted to, so he took the quill and wrote on the parchment, handing it back to Lachlan once he was done who read it over with a slightly embarrassed grin. To Lachlan, Don't forget that strategy means being observant. All the best; Ron Weasley.
"Thanks so much! I'll make sure I tell Mr Watkins you stopped by." Lachlan was sitting at the counter, a satisfied smile on his face as he placed the piece of parchment in front of him. Ron just shook his head, feeling a little dazed at the thought of having a fan – particularly one that enthusiastic – and left for the Leaky Cauldron.
The gateway to Diagon Alley was getting busier as it came to lunch time, and Ron looked around for a small table where he could wait for Hermione. Ron and Hermione met up usually once a week for lunch, and had been doing so since they both started working regularly after the war. The pair had been in a relationship during the start of the war, but had decided to break it off after it began affecting their fighting. They also had felt they were both changing too much and didn't want the strain of a romantic relationship on their friendship, so they had stopped and had since been seeing other people. Ron knew he still felt very strongly about Hermione, but wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore; the red-haired wizard looked forward to seeing her, lately it had been a much needed highlight amongst his frustrating work with the Cannons.
The red-head was about to take a seat at a small table when he saw the entrance from the Alley to the Leaky Cauldron open and two wizards making their way through. Ron recognised Seamus with surprise, not having seen the Irish wizard for a while.
He approached the pair, not looking too closely at the wizard following quietly behind, "Seamus, mate! How are you?"
"I'm good Ron! It's been a while!" Seamus responded, untangling the scarf from his neck, and allowing Harry to step up beside him.
Ron noticed him then, "blimey, Harry! I didn't see you there." The three of them headed towards a table through an unspoken agreement, Seamus and Harry taking their cloaks off and hanging them over the chair backs. "Anyway, how've you both been? Anything interesting happened?"
..
Harry was feeling uncomfortable. The three of them had been sitting with their drinks for quarter of an hour, mostly talking about what they'd been up to. Actually it was Ron and Seamus who were doing most of the talking, every now and then asking Harry a question which he would half answer before turning the conversation back to them. He wasn't so stupid to think they wouldn't notice his evasion, but since Seamus already seemed to know Harry had been feeling awkward and nervous all day he decided there wasn't a lot he could do about it. He took another sip of his beer, happy to feel the alcohol dulling things a little, particularly since he had had very little to eat that morning. He tried to look happy, putting on a smile and laughing when it was appropriate, but he wanted to get out of the Leaky Cauldron, go back to the house in Appleby and curl up on his bed alone. It was at turns stressful and relaxing having Seamus around him, but the Alley had too many people in it to be relaxing in any way; he was constantly trying to play his role. Now he had to play the part for Ron as well, his best friend who knew him better than most. Harry knew he had been pushing his friends away during the war, working with them only when he had to. And after he went away, living like the war was still going on, just a different sort; he kept busy, and spent most of his time on helping out rather than socialising with all of his friends.
"… Harry?"
Jerked out of his thoughts, Harry realised he had lost track of the conversation, it seemed as though Ron had been attempting to get his attention for a while. "Er, sorry Ron. What did you say?"
The red-haired wizard stared intently at Harry, making him uncomfortable. "Are you all right Harry?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." The response was automatic; he was always 'fine'.
"Really? You don't seem fine, you're a bit distant. Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"
Damn it, Harry swore in his mind. He hated it when people asked him if he was alright, if there was anything wrong. He shifted in his seat, fingers clenching a little tighter around the glass while his other hand formed a nervous fist under the table.
"I'm just a little bit tired, and zoned out! That's all." Harry forced a smile, hoping it looked natural. Ron kept looking at him with that intent stare, and Harry thought his friend was going to call him on what he knew was an obvious lie. He didn't, however, simply nodding at him.
"Make sure he gets a good night sleep tonight, Seamus," Ron said in an only half-faked mothering tone.
"Will do, Ron!" Seamus said, giving a mock salute.
"I don't need any mothering." Harry snapped out a little too loudly as several heads turned in their direction. Lowering his voice, he continued, "I can take care of myself." While he was aware he hadn't been doing a very good job of taking care of himself recently, Harry hated the way everyone was always trying to look after him.
"Harry…" Seamus spoke softly, trailing off as Harry focused his glare on him.
The tense moment between the three of them was broken when Ron stood and waved across the room desperately, calling out. "Hermione! Good to see you!"
Using the distraction to turn away, Harry looked down at the table and sipped at his beer. He was annoyed at himself for getting frustrated with Ron and Seamus, but he was getting sick of the constant presence. No doubt Hermione would ask him how he was too, now that she was here.
When Hermione had divested herself of her heavy winter robe and scarf she did a round of hugs, and Harry tried not to flinch as she wrapped her arms around him last.
"What a gathering this is," she said with a smile, "I get to have lunch with three men instead of just the one I was expecting. You two are having lunch aren't you?" Hermione asked Harry and Seamus, smiling again when Seamus responded. "Good, I missed out on having lunch with Harry yesterday, and it's good to see you back home Seamus." Ron cleared his throat pointedly as Hermione focused on the other two. "Of course I also enjoy having lunch with you Ron."
Seamus chuckled as Ron looked a little too pleased at that declaration; he'd always thought there was still something more than friendship between them, even after they'd broken up. Harry knew Ron was unsure where he stood with Hermione, and he suspected they'd simply needed time apart to adjust to having changed and grown up. Since he hadn't talked to Hermione in a while, he wasn't sure how she felt about him, but it wouldn't surprise him if she felt much the same way.
Harry watched the interaction between the other three at the table as they waited for their meals to arrive, Hermione questioning Seamus on America and Ron glancing at her every so often – just like he did back at school. Seamus was in his element being the entertainer, though he glanced towards Harry with a concerned look every so often.
Their meals soon arrived, and the conversation continued more slowly as Ron, Seamus and Hermione ate their meals – Ron and Seamus eating voraciously to the disgust of Hermione. Harry could barely bring himself to eat his meal, he'd been hungry before, but now just looking at the burger and chips made him feel nauseous. He ate small mouthfuls every so often to stop the others looking at him and moved his food around on his plate distractedly.
It wasn't long before Hermione had to leave to go back to work, and Ron offered to walk her back down the Alley. They all stood, and Hermione gave both Seamus and Harry another hug.
"Take care of each other, you two." Hermione said as she left the table with Ron.
Seamus looked at Harry carefully after Ron and Hermione had left. "Do you want to keep looking around the Alley?"
Harry hesitated. "If you want to, I don't mind."
"We could have a quiet afternoon; maybe head out to do something in the evening?" Seamus suggested; realising Harry would prefer to go home.
The dark-haired wizard just nodded, and followed Seamus through the pub to the apparition point.
o
Draco was sitting quietly in his small apartment glaring at the muggle television that was currently showing static. He had been living in the apartment for three weeks and still couldn't figure out how to make it show something else. Draco hated living in the small place, but once his father started catching on that he was up to something it had become unsafe to stay in the Manor. He had moved into the apartment on the recommendation of his lawyer and, though he knew it was a good idea to stay somewhere unexpected (and what was more unexpected than a Malfoy living in muggle London?), he wished he could move out and live somewhere that was more fitting – or at least somewhere where there was another witch or wizard.
A tapping at the window made Draco turn the television off in frustration before opening the sliding door to let the owl in. The bird – Mathilda, Zabini's frustrating owl – decided it would wait for Draco to come to it, and perched on the balcony railing looking smug.
"Bloody bird." Draco muttered as he huddled into his coat and stepped out into the cold night. He finally managed to coax Mathilda into giving him the letter and hurriedly went back inside where it was much warmer. The letter was addressed in a scrawling hand far different to Blaise's usually neat writing. Frowning, Draco quickly read the letter twice before throwing it to the table and hurrying to his bedroom.
Throwing the few belongings he had into a bag, Draco looked around frantically searching for anything he might have forgotten. Blaise had risked a lot sending him the warning, and Draco wasn't going to waste it. Checking the rest of the small apartment didn't take long, and he was soon back by the balcony and wondering where he should go.
Draco usually didn't use apparition from or into his apartment, as it would be too easy for somebody to track him, but that didn't matter anymore. Fixing his destination in his mind he spun on his foot and disapparated.
A/N: I think this story is going to be very slow going… both in terms of the pacing and how often I get chapters out. I'm writing this story more for me than anything else, but I hope somebody is enjoying reading it :)