Chapter 6
Biting Books and Broomsticks
"It is important to remember when someone says "expect the unexpected," they do not mean prepare for all contingencies. They simply mean do not be surprised when things do not go as planned."
General (ret.) Jigme Dorji Wengshuk
"HARRIET!"
Ronnie Weasley's shriek of delight cut the quiet morning air inside the Leaky Cauldron's dining room. Harriet paused as she came down the stairs and a streak of red hair shot towards her.
"Ronnie!" Harriet laughed as Ronnie hugged her tight, actually lifting her off her feet.
Ronnie set Harriet back down and Harriet smiled turning to hug Ginny who had followed in Ronnie's wake. "Hey Harriet," Ginny said, beaming. "Still doing magic outside school, huh?"
Harriet twisted her mouth in irritation. Ginny was referencing the time last year when Dobby had levitated the pudding Aunt Petunia had made for a dinner party. As a result, Harriet received an official warning from the Ministry about using magic outside of school. She was also locked in her room by Uncle Vernon for almost a week before Ronnie, Fred, George and Ginny had shown up in Mr Weasley's flying car to rescue her.
"I… well… okay it actually was me who did the magic this time but I didn't mean to do it," Harriet said defensively.
"Yeah, we know," Fred said patting her hard on the shoulder.
"Still, gotta give you points for style, blowing her up!" George added, grinning.
"Bet that made a mess," Fred said, smirking.
"I inflated her, not exploded her, and she was attacking me," Harriet muttered. She still wasn't ready to tell anyone why Aunt Marge had been attacking her.
"Just as good," George shrugged.
"Hello Harriet, dear," Mrs Weasley said as she walked up to Harriet as well. Before Harriet could reply, Mrs Weasley pulled her into a rib-cracking hug. "So sorry we weren't here to look after you after that awful woman was so horrible to you!"
"It-it's okay, Mrs Weasley," Harriet muttered. "I really had a great time with Scott and Kieran."
"Harriet was a model guest," Harriet heard Mrs McIntyre say from nearby.
Harriet saw both Mr and Mrs McIntyre sitting with Jess and the O'Briens at a nearby table drinking coffee.
"Where are Kieran and Scott?" Ronnie asked.
"Probably still sleeping," Harriet replied.
"Still?!"
"Yeah, they do that," Harriet said, "a lot."
Ronnie laughed and Fred and George grumbled. "Oh sure, they got to sleep in. We had to get up at the crack of dawn to be here because Ronnie just couldn't wait," Fred groaned.
"Waking up a little early won't hurt you, Fred," said Percy who had just walked up to greet Harriet as well. "The Early Seeker catches the Snitch, and all that."
"Perce… do… do you even know what that means?" George grumbled.
"And says you," Fred retorted. "Weren't you the one staying up all night and sleeping all day writing secret letters to your girlfriend last summer?"
Harriet, Ronnie and Ginny laughed. Percy tilted his head back in a dignified way before he turned to Harriet. "It is nice to see you again, Harriet. I trust you had a good summer?"
"Uhh… yeah I guess, thanks Percy," Harriet replied. She hadn't thought it was possible for Percy to get more pompous.
Mrs Weasley smiled up at him affectionately. "So, did you hear our good news, Harriet?" Mrs Weasley asked. "Second Head Boy in the family!"
"Yeah, Ronnie told me! Congratulations Percy!" Harriet said smiling.
Percy's chest swelled even more, his Head Boy badge glinting as he did. Fred and George mimed retching while Ronnie pretended to strangle herself and Ginny tried her best not to laugh.
"Well anyway, how was life at Scott's? Love your outfit by the way, so retro," Ginny said taking in Harriet's attire. Today she had picked out a white turtle-neck with a navy, pleated pinafore dress, white knee socks with black argyle pattern and black penny loafers.
"Oh, thanks Ginny, I got it from Scott's cousin, Jess."
"Another outfit of mine she wears a million times better than I ever did," Jess said, walking over and holding out a hand to Ronnie. "And how are yeh, Miss Ronnie? How's the wand?"
The Weasleys, McIntyres, and Harriet all sat down together. They ordered breakfast and filled each other in on their summers. Ronnie told Harriet all about Egypt.
"Well the tours and tombs and stuff were cool, but what I liked best was coming across a Muggle football camp there too," Ronnie said. "Learned some pretty good tricks to practice, which is good, because that was the excuse we gave my summer league coach: I was going abroad to a special football camp for the summer."
"Yeah, I bet he wasn't happy to hear you'd be gone."
"No, he really wasn't… but that story satisfied him I think."
Harriet was excited to tell Ronnie and Ginny all about her summer at McIntyre Manor.
"Fishing? That—that sounds like the most boring thing ever. All you do is just sit there and wait for a fish to bite? Seriously?" Ronnie asked.
"Ohhhhh, I wish I could have seen the unicorns," Ginny moaned.
Harriet smiled. It was something like winning the House Cup to see how well Ginny had returned to her normal self after everything that had happened the previous year. She supposed some time with her family and having fun again in Egypt had helped Ginny get over much of the damage.
It was Hermione who turned up next. She was pleased to see Harriet, but unlike Ronnie and Ginny, she didn't have quite the same outlook on Harriet's unintentional magic. "You're just lucky you weren't expelled," Hermione scolded.
"I told you, Hermione, I lost control! She was attacking me, what was I supposed to do?"
"Well, okay you're right but—"
"Oh leave her alone, Hermione," Ronnie said, rolling her eyes. "She's fine isn't she?"
"So tell me about your time in France," Harriet said, changing the subject.
They listened to Hermione's story of her vacation. Harriet was more interested in Hermione's tale than Ronnie and Ginny were, as most of the sites Hermione had seen were Muggle in nature. Her cousin, Camille, who was also a Muggle-born, had shown Hermione around several magical locations.
It was then that Harriet started to notice there was something a little different about Hermione. She was wearing a simple blue t-shirt, grey shorts and flats, but Harriet noticed a distinct change. While Hermione had been average sized, she now seemed slimmer than she had before the summer, and her arms and legs seemed to be much more toned and muscly compared to last year.
Harriet was about to ask about it when finally Kieran and Scott came down the stairs. They greeted the other girls enthusiastically despite still looking half-asleep. Mrs O'Brien and McIntyre both fussed over the boys, producing combs from nowhere and attempting to tame their wild bed hair.
Next to arrive was Marcus and his father. Mr Weasley greeted Mr Van De Lakk with his usual excitement whenever he met Muggles while Marcus was grinning ear to ear and looking unusually proud. The reason for that was evident when he produced a copy of that morning's Daily Prophet.
Lockhart Locked-Up!
Gilderoy Lockhart given eighteen month sentence in Azkaban
"Should have been more," Marcus grumbled. "Too many of his fans pleaded for a light sentence… but still, got what he deserved anyway!"
Harriet had to agree. Despite having told them the whole story in his letters, Marcus couldn't help but give them all the play-by-play of his time in the trial against Lockhart and his trip to Canada with Professor Dumbledore.
"So, what did you think of Jackson?" Harriet asked.
Marcus shrugged. "He seemed an okay bloke. Didn't talk much, didn't seem to want to trust anyone or anything but the horse. I kinda hope he'll be in Gryffindor actually, seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Bet he'll be a real laugh when he loosens up a bit."
"Yeah, that was what I thought too," Scott said.
"You met him then?" Marcus asked.
"Harriet and I did," Scott said. "He came to the house so Jess could make him a new wand."
Harriet shot a side-ways glance at Scott. Again she noted how unwilling he was to talk about his family's wealth, calling his home a 'house' instead of a 'manor'. She still wasn't sure why. She supposed he simply did not like to brag, as his family's status and money was not exactly a secret.
"Was he any more talkative with you lot?" Marcus asked. "Didn't talk much with me. Mostly just listened, then wanted to make absolutely sure his horse really could come to Hogwarts too."
"Interesting… well the horse definitely could. They showed up with the horse when he came to get his measurements for Jess to make his wand. He wasn't real talkative then either, especially after he saw Harriet," Scott added.
Kieran choked on his pumpkin juice and Marcus raised his eyebrows. "Really?" Marcus asked, grinning.
"Oh shut up," Harriet muttered. "He wasn't that bad."
"No, but he was obvious," Scott muttered.
"Since when are you so protective?" Hermione asked, coolly.
Scott flushed. "I'm not! Well, I am, I was just surprised is all."
"Suuuuure," Ronnie teased, making Scott go even redder.
"Oy! You lot!" called another familiar voice from the doorway. Dora had finally arrived. She was beaming as she came in to the pub, an arm around her younger sister, Emma. Again Harriet found it amusing that despite being two years younger than Dora, Emma looked to have a full five-inch height advantage on her older sister.
Dora beamed hugging Emma tighter as she marched her up to the table. "Guess who's all ready to do her very first bit of Hogwarts shopping?"
"Hey way to go, Emma," Marcus said cheerfully.
Emma's eyes went wide at being talked to directly and her face turned very pale. Harriet smiled warmly at her reassuringly.
"You're going to have a great time today! Diagon Alley's one of the coolest places ever, and you'll get your wand!"
Emma blinked a few times and slowly nodded, without smiling.
"What house do you think you're going to get?" Ginny asked.
"Dunno," was all Emma managed to say.
Ronnie shot Harriet an awkward look. "Well let's say we all go out shopping? We can get a lot of it done before the big crowds arrive!"
"Good thought," Marcus agreed and they all got to their feet.
"Where to first?" Scott asked.
"Quality Quidditch Supplies," Dora said, grinning ear to ear and giving Harriet a knowing look.
"Oh alright," Hermione groaned.
"Awwww still not a Quidditch fan, Hermione?" Scott teased. "I'm shocked."
Hermione rolled her eyes. Harriet smiled. It was good to see Scott coming a bit more out of his shell and joking more openly. She wondered if her spending the summer there had helped.
"Well, I know we have to stop by the pet shop at some point," Ronnie said and she pulled Scabbers out of her hoodie. "Poor Scabbers hasn't looked right since we got back from Egypt."
There was no arguing with that. Scabbers was usually a bit woebegone, even by rat standards, but at the moment he looked completely miserable. His ears and whiskers were drooping and he was missing hair in a couple places.
Emma remained behind to do her shopping with Mr and Mrs Flamel. Mrs Weasley made them all promise to meet up at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at noon. They agreed and began making their way as quickly as they could towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. It was only ten o'clock, and Harriet was surprised at the size of the crowd that was already gathered.
"Wonder what the occasion is?" Kieran asked.
Harriet and her friends managed to squeeze through the thick crowd to the front window of the shop. Once there, Harriet's jaw fell open. On a podium in the shop's front window was the most beautiful broom Harriet had ever seen. Its handle was so smooth and polished it looked to be made of wood coloured glass.
"Knew you'd want to see this," Dora said in Harriet's ear. "The Firebolt. Greatest racing broom ever made."
Harriet found it hard to argue with Dora's assessment. From just seeing the broom once, Harriet knew there was nothing in the world she wanted more.
Scot whistled looking at a placard. Harriet leaned forward and read too.
THE FIREBOLT
This state-of-the-art racing broom sports a streamlined, superfine handle of ash, treated with a diamond-hard polish and hand-numbered with its own registration number. Each individually selected birch-twig in the broomtail has been honed to aerodynamic perfection, giving the Firebolt unsurpassable balance and pinpoint precision. The Firebolt has an acceleration of nought to 150 miles per hour in ten seconds and incorporates an unbreakable Braking Charm. Price on request.
Harriet groaned reading the final sentence. Price on Request. She didn't even want to think about how much the Firebolt must cost. Her parents had left her quite a pile of gold, but it wasn't infinite in size, and Harriet had five more years at Hogwarts including this one to make it all last.
There was also the fact that even if her Nimbus Two-Thousand could not fly quite as fast as the Firebolt, it was still one of the best brooms in her school. She could compete with the Slytherin teams' newer Nimbus Two-Thousand Ones, and she was sure that as wealthy as his family was, Draco Malfoy's father was unlikely to spend quite that much on a Firebolt for him.
After ogling the Firebolt a little longer, they moved on to the Apothecary where they refilled all their Potions ingredients. From there it was Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. They had all grown so much every one of them needed new robes, though none more so than Scott, who had easily grown the most, now rivalling Ronnie for height.
"What say we get our books now?" Kieran suggested.
"Well, we still have a lot of shopping to do, do we really want to be lugging around books that whole time?" Dora asked.
"Well we could always take the books back to the Leaky Cauldron then go back to more fun shopping?" Hermione suggested.
"Yeah, that's a good thought," Ronnie said and held out her arm as if brandishing a sword. "Okay, to Flourish and Blotts!"
"Now with less Lockhart than ever before!" Marcus said striking a similar pose.
Everyone laughed and they made their way through the swarms of people to the book shop. Half an hour later, they left with all their books in tow.
"I've… I've never seen a grown man cry like that before," Dora muttered.
"Me neither," Harriet agreed.
Upon reaching the shop, Harriet had immediately solved another of the mysteries she had been pondering that summer. It turned out that the snarling, snapping, biting book that Hagrid had sent her, telling her only that it would "come in useful" was the set book for Care of Magical Creatures, which Harriet and all her friends would be starting this year.
Apparently the shopkeepers couldn't control the books either. As the group walked up to the cage full of fighting books, the assistant who was standing beside them took one look at the size of the group and burst into tears. His reward was being bitten eight times while trying to fetch six copies of the book. As they paid, every one of them told the assistant to keep the change for his troubles.
"Blimey, Hermione," Marcus grunted as they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. "Just how many classes are you taking again?"
Hermione had bought so many books that the three boys all pitched in to help her carry them.
"Oh, a lot," Hermione said vaguely.
"Noooooo you think?" Ronnie muttered in Harriet's ear. Harriet giggled.
They deposited their shopping in their rooms and made their way to the Magical Menagerie. Hermione was also eyeing Eeylops Owl Emporium as they passed.
"You know, I really would like an owl of my own, finally," she said rubbing her chin in thought. "Mum and Dad gave me some early birthday money in case I wanted to get one…"
"Well they sell them in the Menagerie too," Ronnie said. "Come on."
The Menagerie was one of the more crowded shops Harriet had ever been in. Not from people, but from the animals. It was almost deafeningly loud from all the squawking and screeching, and they found it nearly impossible to navigate the awkwardly stacked cages and tanks full of some of the most fanciful animals Harriet had ever seen. There were normal animals like owls and cats and toads and rats, but also more fantastic creatures such as a rabbit that could turn itself into a top-hat, and a tortoise with actual jewels in its shell. Even the otherwise normal animals seemed to be special. There was a cage of rats on the counter that looked like ordinary garden rats, except for the fact they were using each other's tails as jump-ropes.
Harriet and the others looked around the shop while Ronnie stood in line, waiting for the witch working the counter to finish giving instructions to a customer on the care of double-ended newts. Harriet, Scott and Marcus picked out some owl treats for their owls while Hermione perused the shop's selection of owls. Despite her earlier interest in an owl, none seemed to strike her fancy as she went back and forth, studying them all.
Finally, Ronnie made it to the counter. Harriet, Scott and Marcus got in line behind her.
"How may I help you?" the witch asked as Ronnie stepped up.
"It's my rat, Scabbers, I think he's really ill," Ronnie replied, pulling Scabbers from her pocket and setting him on the counter. Scabbers flopped down pathetically. The rats who had been playing jump-rope stopped and scampered over to the side of the cage, looking at Scabbers with interest.
"Dear dear… he is a bit the worse for wear, isn't he?" the witch asked, picking up Scabbers delicately, studying his hairless patches, his ragged left ear and front right paw, which had a missing toe.
"H-he… I know he's old… but he always seemed so healthy all these years, but we just got back from Egypt and…"
Ronnie trailed off as emotion and concern washed over her. The witch grimaced looking from Ronnie to Scabbers. "Well, how old is the poor dear?" the witch asked.
"I-I dunno…" Ronnie said. "He first belonged to my brother, so at least twelve I think…"
The witch's eyes went wide at this news. "And-er-what powers does he have?" she asked awkwardly.
"Uhhh…" Ronnie trailed off. Harriet knew what Ronnie was thinking: Scabbers had never shown a trace of being magical.
The witch sighed sympathetically. "Well… this… is hard to say dear but, a common rat such as Scabbers here usually only lives three years or so… and the fact he's managed to live to be this old is incredible, but… I'm not sure what can really be done…"
The witch paused taking in Ronnie's stricken face. "Well, I do have a rat tonic that might be useful, dear."
The witch knelt behind the counter and rose with a small red bottle. Ronnie looked relieved at the prospect of the tonic. "Oh thanks," Ronnie said smiling again. "How much will it be-AHH!"
At that moment, a large streak of orange fur leapt down onto the counter top from the tallest stack of cages. It hissed and spat and swiped at Scabbers.
"NO CROOKSHANKS! BAD CAT! BAD!" the witch cried and attempted to pull Scabbers out of harm's way.
Scabbers however seemed to rouse himself from his near-death behaviour and sprang to life. He shot out of the witch's hand and off the counter, too fast for either the witch, Ronnie, or the massive cat that had attacked him. He hit the floor and shot from the door too fast to be seen.
"SCABBERS!" Ronnie cried and tore out of the shop after him. Marcus and Harriet dropped their owl treats and tore out of the shop after her.
Even with three people searching it took almost fifteen minutes to find Scabbers. He was hiding under a waste-bin outside Quality Quidditch Supplies. By that point they were in danger of running late for their rendezvous at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
"What on earth was that?" Ronnie asked, glaring back at the pet shop.
"I dunno," Harriet said. "But it meant business."
"Well let's go get the rat tonic," Ronnie grumbled. "See if I ever shop at that—"
Ronnie was cut off by the sight of Hermione, Scott, Kieran and Dora walking towards them. Hermione was beaming, but she was not holding an owl. Instead, she was carrying the enormous ginger cat. Dora was cooing over it while Kieran was looking incredulous and Scott was looking at the cat sceptically.
"You bought that thing?!" Ronnie asked, gaping.
"Isn't he gorgeous?" Hermione asked, looking down at the cat reverently.
Harriet bit her lip. Now that it was simply purring contentedly in Hermione's arms she began to appreciate the cat's appearance. His fur was very thick and looked soft and cuddly. His face was flat in an almost human-like way, and its thick tail looked adorably like a bottle-brush.
"But, we share a dormitory!" Ronnie said. "How's Scabbers supposed to get any rest and relaxation with that thing about?!"
"He's not a thing!" Hermione snapped cuddling the cat tighter. "His name's Crookshanks. The poor dear's been in there for ages, no one's wanted him."
"I'm so shocked," Ronnie grumbled, cuddling her hoodie pouch where Scabbers was hidden.
"Well," Dora said thoughtfully, scratching Crookshanks behind the ears. "If he'd be a problem in your dormitory…"
Hermione glowered pulling Crookshanks away possessively. "Of course he won't be a problem, no you would never be a problem, would you Crookshanks?" she cooed.
Marcus and Ronnie both looked dumbstruck.
"Oh, here," Dora said stepping towards Ronnie. She held out the bottle of rat tonic. "You forgot this, I got it for you, it was only a few knuts."
"Oh, uh th-thanks, Dora," Ronnie stammered, looking abashed.
"And you forgot your owl treats," Kieran said holding the bag out to Harriet.
"Oh, thanks Kieran," Harriet said reaching into her moneybag. "How much—"
"Oh forget it," Kieran said waving a hand dismissively.
"But—?"
"I said it's fine," Kieran smiled. "They're not that much, just a two-year present for Hedwig let's say?"
Harriet blushed but smiled.
"We've, uh, we've gotta get back to Fortescues," Scott said, looking at his watch.
They started back up the street, Hermione and Dora continuing to coo over Crookshanks while Ronnie kept giving the cat dirty looks and Scott gave it thoughtful ones. Harriet dropped back to talk to him.
"Why do you keep looking at Crookshanks like that?"
"That's not a normal cat," Scott muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"It's too big," Scott said. "And that fur… that cat's part-kneazle or my name's not Scott McIntyre."
"Kneazle?" Harriet asked.
"Er, magical felines; very intelligent, almost dangerously so. Particularly, if you're untrustworthy… lots of wizard families use them as sort of living sneakoscopes, they're great at detecting secrecy and will actually attack those they deem threats."
Harriet digested this information but didn't get to discuss it further as they finally reached the ice cream parlour.
"There you all are," Mrs McIntyre said. She and Mrs Weasley both looked equally worried.
"We're five minutes from noon," Ronnie protested, looking at her watch.
"No need to be snippy," Mrs Weasley said, hands on her hips making Ronnie flush.
"Sorry, mum."
Jess let out a booming laugh from nearby. They all turned to see her sitting at a table a little ways away. At first Harriet thought she was sitting by herself, but then realized she was talking to Florean Fortescue, with a distinct twinkle in her eye. Fortescue himself was looking rather flushed. Jess caught Harriet's eye and gave her a tiny wink before she returned her attention to Fortescue.
Scott rolled his eyes, going red with embarrassment as Jess continued to flirt with Fortescue.
"Hey, she's single, she deserves to have fun," Harriet said. Jess had defended her several times from Scott's teasing, it was only fair to defend her back.
"Does she have to be so public about it though?" he moaned miserably.
"Oi, Harriet, come on over here I'll introduce you to the man himself," Jess called. Harriet smiled and walked over.
"Goodness, nice to see you again, Miss Potter," Fortescue said bowing and pulling out a chair for Harriet to sit.
Harriet sat. "How are you today, Mister Fortescue?" she asked politely.
"Oh fine, thank you," Fortescue said. "Jess and I were just discussing some magical history."
"Oh?" Harriet asked. She was immediately reminded of Professor Binns' awful History of Magic lessons. Fortescue seemed like he would be much more interesting to learn magical history from.
"Yes, just—what the devil?"
Fortescue turned and looked towards the others. Harriet turned too and saw Hermione was fighting with Crookshanks. The cat had gotten out of her arms but had actually jumped up and grabbed hold of Hermione's shirt, almost like a dog. He was tugging madly, pulling Hermione down the street.
"Crookshanks, no stop Crookshanks, let go! Let—"
Hermione did not get to finish her sentence. At that moment, the ground seemed to roll beneath their feet and it felt as though someone big and invisible had hit Harriet hard, knocking her off her chair. The table and chairs toppled over as well. There was a horrific boom that hurt Harriet's ears and she clapped her hands down over them. All she could hear now was ringing. There was debris raining down all around her and she curled up, crying out in fear and pain.
She opened her eyes again, panic starting to well up in her mind. What had just happened? What was going on? Where was everyone? There were feet scrambling past her going in countless directions. Strong hands grabbed hold of Harriet's arms and hauled her up. She was face to face with Fred Weasley. His eyes were wide with shock, and he had a burst vessel in his left eye, the white mostly red now. Harriet noted he was also bleeding from his ears. His lips were moving but Harriet couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear anything but the ringing. She tried to speak but she couldn't hear herself either.
Before Harriet could do anything else, Fred knelt and hoisted her up over his shoulder. Harriet tried to protest but as she looked back from Fred's shoulder her mouth fell open. Where there had once been a tall, grand-looking office building four places down across the street, there was now a smoking pile of rubble. The entire front of the offices had been destroyed. People were scrambling about, some running towards the wreckage to help, others running away in terror.
They reached the Leaky Cauldron. Fred passed through the magical doorway in the stone wall and into the pub itself before he finally set her down. He put his hands on her cheeks and looked at her from very close.
"Ha-r-r-r-riet-t-t-t-t c-c-c-can you h-h-hear me-e-e-e?" she vaguely heard Fred's voice ask. It sounded as though he was inside a big coliseum, his voice echoing. Harriet glanced past him to see a small crowd of people being led into the pub from the street.
"Ye-yeah," Harriet replied. She was starting to be able to hear herself too.
"Good. You alright? Not hurt anywhere?"
"I-I don't think so," Harriet replied. She was starting to panic again. What if she was hurt and she didn't know it? Her breathing started to get faster and she began looking herself over frantically trying to find injuries.
Fred hugged her tight. "It's okay Harriet, you're okay, you're okay," he kept repeating over and over again.
"What happened?" Harriet asked, but Fred did not answer.
More adult wizards and witches were helping carry others into the pub. Everyone looked terrified and shocked. Tom came bustling up, looking around with wide, disbelieving eyes. Even from here inside the pub Harriet could see the cloud of smoke rising from the place where the tall office building used to be.
"Wha-what happened?" Tom asked and he hustled out of the pub to the entrance to Diagon Alley.
"My God… the Prophet… someone blew up The Daily Prophet!" Harriet heard Tom cry out.
Harriet began looking around frantically for all her friends. Scott was with his parents, the Weasleys were altogether now except for Fred who was still holding Harriet. Ginny had her hands clamped over her ears still, rocking back and forth and screaming as Mr and Mrs Weasley tried to calm her down. Kieran was sitting with his own parents, wrapped in a blanket and clutching his shillelagh tightly, his eyes wide. Hermione was clutching Crookshanks while being tended to by Jess. Dora and Emma were cuddling each other and Mr and Mrs Flamel stood over them, their wands drawn. Marcus meanwhile was with his own father, both looking equally rattled.
A wave of relief washed over Harriet. Somehow, miraculously, they all looked safe. Harriet looked into the pub now. Many people were pushing forward, trying to see what was going on.
"The Prophet?"
"Never."
"But what then?"
"An accident?"
"What accident could have caused an explosion like that?"
However, it wasn't the onlookers that caught Harriet's attention. It was one man in particular. He was still sitting at his table, sipping a cup of tea placidly. He set the tea-cup down and rose to his feet. He was tall and thin, wearing a pure-white suit. He had long, black hair tied into a ponytail and a matching white fedora under his arm. He turned and actually looked Harriet right in the eyes. His gaze was steely and cold even though his lips were curled into a smile. He put a finger to his lips and turned and strode casually from the pub as if nothing had happened at all.
Harriet felt her heart clench even tighter. She knew that gaze. It was the same gaze she had been fitted with by Tom Riddle. The man wasn't Riddle, but there was no mistaking that look now. Harriet would never forget it. Once again, Harriet had just looked into the eyes of a murderer.