The Turning Point

Chapter 3 : Potter Renewed

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Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter but Artemis is mine.

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July 2

Harry came down to the dining room to see that both of them were sitting there waiting for him. He noticed that Bathilda was sitting at one end of the table and Artemis was sitting at her left. From the meals at Burrow and Grimmauld place, he knew this tradition. Bathilda's seating signified her position as the host or head of the host family and everyone else are supposed to follow her lead. But he didn't understand why his sister left the second most prominent position for him. Wasn't she more important in the 'family' having known Bathilda longer? He decided to ask her about that later.

He stood behind the chair not knowing whether he would have to bow before the host or give some specific greeting. Their demeanour gave away nothing other than that they were waiting for him to do something.

Sensing his nervousness, she said, "Take a seat, Harry. The meals here are informal occasions unless Bathilda says otherwise."

He took a seat and waited for his host to start eating before digging in himself. He idly noted that she seemed to be an entirely different person from the eccentric lady he met the day before. Her dress, while not gaudy and flashy like Dumbledore's, had a quiet elegance about it that gave her the air of a wise, respectable old lady.

"Artemis did ask me if I could have some meals be of formal nature so that you both could learn the code of conduct for such occasions."

The said girl turned towards the host to show her that she had her full attention. She was surprised that Bathilda had remembered it but she had hidden her surprise so well that he would not have known about it if not for their bond.

"I can't teach you all the rules involved in formal occasions. Many of the rules depend on the type of occasion you are going to. There are some parties that last the whole day and have eighteen dishes for one to consume over the course of the day. You would have to know the order in which the dishes are to be consumed. You would have to know the specific spoon or fork to be used to consume them. You would have to know exactly how to drink the no doubt expensive wine they would have provided lest the host be offended. Then, you would have to know what greetings are to be given and to whom. The greetings themselves depend on the social status of the person relative to yours. If you make a mistake, you would either offend someone influential enough to make your life miserable or lower your own status in the society. On other hand, the greeting that is appropriate for funerals might not be appropriate for birthday parties or wedding ceremonies.", she said.

Harry noted that there was a greenish tinge to his sister's cheeks that he knew was mirrored on his face. He didn't understand why she was reacting that way. Didn't she already know all that? Neither noticed the slowly growing smirk on the face of their host.

"If you still wish to learn, I will set up some of the meals as formal sessions so that I can teach you the general rules that are common for all formal occasions and the important things that you should definitely know. As we have an elf now, it is possible for me to arrange it. You would have to learn other rules by going to the specific events and practicing them. The more you practice, more well versed you would become in these rules. There is a reason pureblood parents drag their children through all the social functions and host a few themselves. By the time the children come of age, following the code of conduct would be as natural as taking a shower.", she said.

"Alright.", he said glumly.

"Don't be so down, dearies. It is no different from learning magic. When you first started learning the Levitation charm, you had to focus on getting the wand movements correct, say the correct incantation with proper emphasis on the specific sounds. But, after many years of education and understanding the principles involved, I am sure you can now do it half asleep. It may seem difficult at first but after a lot of practice, you will feel as if it had always been a part of you.", she said.

"Thank You. We are grateful that you are spending your precious time to teach us. You didn't have to do this.", Artemis told her.

"There is no need to thank me, children. It is the duty of us elders to pass on our knowledge to the younger generation. It is also our responsibility to ensure that you children grow up to be respectable citizens. We are the history while you are the future. While academic achievements are important, they are useless without knowledge of how to behave properly in a society. There is more to magic than a few wand movements and incantations. On that note, I think it is time to invite Albus for tea. I am interested to know what exactly is taught in that school of his.", Bathilda replied.

Harry nodded at his sister in acknowledgement. He understood what she was talking about last night. Their host spoke of the head master as if he was just an errant child who was caught redhanded and was due an earful of scolding. He promised himself that he would never get caught causing trouble to Bathilda. He sure would love to be a fly on the wall when the head master gets his scolding. He could tell from the half-smile on her face that she was thinking the same.

They continued some small talk until they finished breakfast and left the house.

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They soon reached a pub similar to Leaky Cauldron.

"Hi Lawrence, how is business doing?", Artemis asked the man behind the booth.

Harry saw that Lawrence was a tall middleaged man with pepper white hair, brown eyes and a slight stubble on his chin. His eyes had a weathered look as if he had seen many things in life. He had an air of pleasantness, understanding and eager to help kind of person. Harry didn't know whether it was his nature or due to his long experience as bar tender.

"Business is going as usual. What about you? How were your accomodations?", he asked her with a kind smile.

"Our accomodations are proper. We are in good terms with the land lady. Anyway, Lawrence, this is my brother Hadrian Evans. Hadrian, Lawrence, bartender and the man who introduced us.", she said tilting her head towards her landlady.

"It is good to meet you, Hadrian."

"It is good to meet you too, sir."

"No need for all those formalities, boy. Its not like you are here for a job interview. Call me Lawrence. Everyone does. What can I get you?", he asked in a jovial tone.

"We are not here to have breakfast, son. With the kids getting a house elf, I don't have to worry about that. We are here to use your Floo connection. The kids decided it would be good for me to have an eye check up.", she replied.

"I didn't know there was a cure for cataract.", he said.

This time it was Artemis who answered, "There is no magical cure. There has been many advancements in muggle medicine recently. I have heard a surgery can clear cataract. We are just going to inquire about it and to see whether Bathilda is eligible for it."

"If that is the case, I would not keep you waiting for much longer. The floo is through the door over there.", he replied showing a non descripit door on the side wall.

After saying their goodbyes, they went through the door. Harry went to the floo box and took out some powder. It was then that he remembered that he did not know where to go.

"We are going to Leaky Cauldron and then we are walking to the Muggle world.", Artemis said.

He threw the powder into the fire and jumped into it speaking the name of the location.

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Harry was soon spit out of the fire and fell on his butt. He slowly got up rubbing his behind. He saw his sister being spit out the same way. She landed on her feet but it was an unsteady landing. She teetered from side to side with her hands spread out on both sides to increase her stability. After a second or two, she was able to stand properly. She instantly moved to the side to let Bathilda through. They were standing ready to catch her but they were astonished to see her walk out of the fire as if she was walking through an open door.

Artemis elbowed him playfully and said, "What does it say about us Potters when the one best at Flooing among us is an old lady bend double with age, is also blind and sometimes has hearing problems?"

The 'old lady' must have heard it because the next moment she was jumping up and down clutching her butt.

"That will teach you to not disrespect your elders. Did you really think I would not hear it?", she said in a serious tone contrasting the playful smile on her lips.

Harry was struggling to hold in his laughter. He had no qualms at laughing at her but he didn't want his host deciding that he needed a demonstration too. He would surely use this as a blackmail material against her if a situation arose.

"Did you have to hit me that hard? A scolding would have sufficed.", she said.

"But I didn't hit you. I was merely poking you to get your attention.", Bathilda said.

"If that is the way you poke, I don't ever want to get hit by you.", she said.

"Now you are learning my dear."

Artemis leaned towards Harry's ear cupping her mouth with her hand and said in a low conspiratory tone, "Next time, I will make sure to never get caught."

She must have expected it because the next moment she expertly dodged another 'poke'.

"We have an appointment children. Let us not dally."

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The eye care centre wasn't very far away from the muggle entrance to Leaky Cauldron. It was a small, neat and well designed place. They entered the building to see a mousy blonde woman typing away something.

Artemis approached her and asked, "Is inside? We are here on an appointment under the name of Bathilda Bagshot."

The blonde made a call and then told them to go inside. The moment the doctor saw them or rather Bathilda, he got up from his chair and greeted them. He then carefully led her into a chair by holding her hand. He checked her eyes with a torch and asked a few questions. The doctor himself was a man of average build and looks but the sheer enthusiasm he displayed and the smile on his face made him a more likeable character. By the rapt attention he was paying to Bathilda, it was obvious that he was in the job to help people. He then lead her to a weird looking machine and told her to look through one side while he looked through the other.

" , while the appointment was for Bathilda, I have learned that my brother is due for a check up himself. Is it possible to do it now or do we have to get another appointment?", she asked.

"As long as you can pay now, I don't see why it can't be done. We do use the same machine anyway.", he replied.

After checking her, he made some calls.

After they settled, he explained, "The cataract is in an advanced stage but it can be treated with surgery. I have recommended you to a colleague of mine who does he surgery. You can get in touch with him to know other details. Considering the patient's advanced age, I would also suggest a complete check up."

He then handed them the contact details of the doctor and the brochures of the hospital. He then repeated the same procedure with Harry.

"It seems that your eye sight has improved from the last time you had a check up. It is time for you to get new glasses or contact lenses which seems to be the new fad these days."

He gave the prescription letters and the bill to her. She paid the bill at the reception and left. The shop for spectacles and contact lenses was right next to them. So they gave the prescription and insisted on a blue colored lens.

While they were waiting for the product to be ready, Harry asked his sister, "Do you think he bar tender Lawrence knows about me, well, my real identity?"

"He might or might not know. If he didn't suspect, there is no need to tell him. If he suspects, as long as we don't tell him, he has plausible deniability on his side. If anyone asks whether he has seen Harry Potter or know where he is, he can honestly say no."

Harry stared at his sister in astonishment. It only now occured to him how different she was from him. She was a planner, a schemer. She never went into a situation without knowing all important details and making plans on how to take advantage of them along with many back up plans. He would even bet that all these was part of some great plan of hers. This thought led to another thought. Why did she come to Godric's Hollow in the first place? She told him that she came to buy a house but had to settle for renting one. But why Godric's Hollow? He knew that unlike him she had no emotional attachment to their parents. He also knew that she did geniunely care for him. But, he knew that she would not have placed her base of operations in that village merely to satisfy his sentimental needs when she could have apparated him there any time he wanted. That only left one answer. Bathilda had always been an important part of her plans. Having to stay with her was an unexpected but not unwanted bonus which helped her bring him in earlier than she had initially planned. With the two days she had before his arrival, she already had her eating out of her palms.

It was then that he realized that not only was he thinking about other's motive but also he could unravel some of her plots with the little details she gave out once in a while. It reminded him of his first and second year where he was running around the school playing Sherlock Holmes. He observed things everyone else missed and even protected the stone from the real culprit after solving the mystery. He knew that he had done well for a twelve-to-be. They did the same thing next year. But, for some reason, he started getting less observant and more lazy as time went by. Inspite of his life being threatened by a mass murderer in his third year, he chose to ignore the important problems and spent his time quarelling with Malfoy. He never noticed the Defence professor being ill on days that happened to be near full moon, something that his eleven year old self would have found suspicious enough to investigate. He never tried to find out about Sirius Black even after learning that he was his parents' best friend. He basically had to be spoon fed everything. Next year, when his name came out of the Goblet, he concentrated completely on the tournament ignoring the fact that someone put his name there and that someone would take things into his own hands if he survives the tournament. Things became obvious next year when his head constantly felt like as if it was heavier than his whole body. His already declining focus and observation skills went to new lows along with his emotional balance. It was as if he had a permanent Confundus cast on him. He was actually surprised he did as well in OWLs as he did. He didn't know exactly what had caused that change but he could easily guess the reason. While the twin bond was helping to cure the damage Dursleys did and bring forth his real self, Artemis anchoring he wards to herself strengthened the wards enough to cut off the link between him and Voldemort. Without the side effects of the link, he could now think as clearly as he had when he started his first year but with a realistic view of the world.

"Harry, I am happy to see you appreciate my beauty but it is now time to test your new contacts.", she said giving him a saucy wink.

His initial moment of shock turned into embarrassment when he realized that he had been staring at her the whole time. He turned away and let the shop keeper put the lens in his eyes.

"It is very weird. I have never been able to see this clearly before. I have no idea what I was missing.", he said.

"You are of course going to thank your sister who had the wonderful idea of getting your eye checked up.", Artemis said.

Harry, in a surprising display of affection, cupped her face in his hands and said, "Thank You Artie. You are the best sister anyone could ask for."

He then turned back towards the shop keeper to ask a question not noticing that Artemis had two bright red spots on her cheeks and a shy smile on her face. She had no idea her brother was such a charmer. She didn't know whether to feel bad for the girls her brother might try to woo or envy them.

Their next stop was the beauty parlour. Harry was sent in with specific instructions. Harry came out after an hour and Artemis had to admit that she was pleased with what she saw. He looked every bit the pureblood lord that he was going to be. He had his hair long and tied in a ponytail with a tuft of hair falling forward onto his forehead hiding his scar or the place where his scar would have been had it not been covered up by the muggle make up so well that even she, who knew it was there, could not find it. She would indeed add a nice tip at the end for that. His hair had been dyed in such a way that it would seem as if he had put black highlights on his natural red coloured hair. She briefly wondered what kind of person she was that she didn't feel guilty for basically remaking him in her image to satisfy her need to display her ownership over him but discarded those thoughts quickly. The fact that he had a straightbacked posture and confident stance rather than the hunched shoulders and bowed head stance of earlier made it an impressive sight. It seemed that many of his insecurities were linked to his 'Harry Potter' persona. The moment he shed them, he was free. She decided to get him some clothes fit for his station after their Gringotts business was over. They soon returned home for a fulfilling lunch.

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