Author's Note:
Hey y'all! Sorry it's been so long since I've had a chapter for you; real life has been kind of crazy. Anyway, here is an extra long chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy it.
I own nothing you recognize! Oh and the Egyptian dishes in here I did look up but, seeing as I've never had the privilege of seeing Egypt I cannot confirm 100 percent they are right, so I apologize if they might be incorrect. I do not mean any offense if they are wrong.
Thank you to my beta moonyxforever for looking this over for me.
Chapter 6
Harry and Bill made their way over to the fireplace.
"Okay, kiddo. Are you ready to go?" Bill asked looking down at the young man beside him.
"Yep. I can't wait to see Cairo. That's where we're going, right?" Harry responded looking up at the red head.
"Yep, that's where we are going. Are you comfortable using the Floo?" Bill asked.
"I think so," Harry offered slightly uncertain. "I haven't used it all that much."
"I know. Okay, here is what we are going to do. I'm going to go first, if anything, you might go too far. So I'll be at the other end waiting for you. If you do not come out on your own I'll be able to pull you out. Just remember to take your time. Once you put the Floo powder in you can take as much time as you need. The fire will not change back on you. So, once you have stepped in, take a deep breath, and state Cairo Alley Ministry Entrance clearly. It is better to over enunciate than not speak clearly enough." Bill explained looking down at his charge. He ran a hand over the ebony hair. "Are you ready?"
Harry took a deep breath, let it out slowly and said softly "yeah. Let's do this."
"You will do fine," Bill said in a reassuring tone. "Just remember what we talked about and you will be fine."
"Okay, you're right. I've got this," Harry said as he stood a little taller.
"Okay then. I'll see you on the other side," Bill said playfully as he tossed his own handful of Floo powder in, stepped into the fireplace and said clearly "Cairo Alley Ministry Entrance" before vanishing away with a soft swoosh.
Harry took a deep breath and then threw in his own handful. He stepped into the green flames and said "Cairo Alley Ministry Entrance". He pulled his elbows in close to his body and forced his eyes to remain open, searching for Bill. When he saw the man moments later he forced himself out. He stopped so suddenly that he started to fall only to have strong arms wrap around his shoulders, pulling him upright.
"You did it, kiddo!" Bill praised happily.
"Yeah, it wasn't that bad," Harry remarked as he started to straighten his clothing. Bill brushed a bit of dust off Harry's shoulder.
"Okay, you ready to go?" Bill inquired.
Harry looked up at Bill and looked around for the first time. They were in an empty room with two walls of fireplaces. He watched as one side people came out of and the other side was used for people leaving.
"This is like the Ministry," Harry commented softly.
"Who do you think they got the idea from? This is the Egyptian Ministry of Magic. This is the entrance to the Alley from the Ministry. Unlike Diagon Alley, which only has one point of entry, this has three different ones. One here, one in Gringotts and another in a Muggle hotel. We came in this way because we need to register you as my ward and in the country. This is the only time we will need to do so. You will get a magical passport, with Britain being your home country, same as mine, and the Department of Transportation will magically log it when you leave and enter the country. It will do the same with when we go back to England. If you ever do not want to be traced, do not carry it with you; however it is illegal to enter a country without one. If you are caught you may face prison time or whatever other punishment the government you are in wants to give." Bill lectured as they walked down a nondescript hallway. "This time you are okay, because I informed Gringotts that you are my ward and they helped me clear it with the Egyptian government for you to enter without one."
Harry nodded as he listened to Bill. It was slightly overwhelming, he had never thought about a magical citizen needing a passport before. But it did make sense for a government, magical or not, to know who is in their country at all times. "It makes sense," Harry said softly.
Bill stopped and looked down at Harry. "What's wrong, Harry?" Bill asked in concern and slight confusion. "You were fine a minute ago, what changed?"
"Is it safe?" Harry questioned in a small voice, feeling bad for questioning Bill, but needing an answer. He looked up at him with pleading, unsure eyes.
Bill glanced around before reaching out and taking Harry's arm. He pulled him gently over to the wall and said in a soft, intense voice "Is what safe?"
Harry hesitated, seeing how confused Bill was.
"Harry, I cannot settle your fears until you tell me what they are," Bill said quietly.
Harry took a deep breath and paused. Bill gave him an encouraging smile, giving him the courage he needed to voice his fear. "Can you be found using your passport?"
Bill looked shocked for a moment as what Harry asked sank in. Then a saddened look came over his face. When Harry saw the sad look on Bill's face he started biting his lower lip, eyes darting around the deserted hallway. Bill reached out toward Harry's face slowly causing Harry to tense.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Bill said, his voice a deep rumble in his chest as he kept his arm where it was.
Harry nodded once as he bit his lip a little harder. Bill moved his hand closer to Harry's face and gently tugged the abused lip from between the clenched teeth. He wiped the pad of his thumb over it, feeling the puncture wounds from the boy's teeth. When he pulled his hand away his thumb was stained red. Harry looked up at him through his eyelashes and bangs and fought the urge to bite his lip again. Bill looked at the boy in front of him as he pulled out his wand and cast a minor healing charm.
"No more biting your lip," he admonished softly as he put his wand back in his holster.
Harry nodded again.
"Harry," Bill sighed. "I'm not angry with you."
"You… you looked upset, when I asked you about the passport," Harry stuttered slightly.
Bill reached out to cup the back of Harry's head in his palm and pulled him close. He bent down slightly so he could speak into his ear. "I wasn't upset with you. It made me sad that you had to worry about that. It was a smart question to ask, I just wish you didn't have to ask it."
"Oh," Harry said softly as he leaned into Bill.
"I will never be upset with you for asking questions. Asking questions is not a crime. I might not always answer your questions at the time but I promise they will always be addressed. Now, as for your passport being used to track your whereabouts, no it cannot be. Each magical government has a small department of witches and wizards to monitor passports; however, no one knows who they are. They are kind of like our Unspeakables in that regard. That was set up for everyone's safety." Bill explained gently. "I would never do something that would put you in danger. If bringing you here would have put you in danger, I never would have offered to bring you here. I think you will be safer here over all. Voldemort has made advances here but Egyptian wizarding law is more sever. The Ministry is not as corrupt, so laws are enforced more. Unless you have permission by the Ministry you cannot use the Dark Arts. If you are found using them you get prison time. Even if it is your first offense. Yes, we have crime and you'll have to use some common sense, but I really do believe you will be safer here. You ready to go?" Bill said looking down at Harry, waiting patiently for an answer.
Harry looked up at Bill intently, reading his open, honest expression before saying "Yeah, okay. I'm good to go."
Bill smiled down at him, stroked his hair once, and then dropped his hand to Harry's shoulder.
"Let's get this done so we can move on to the fun stuff," Bill said as he started leading Harry down the hall again. A set of stairs and a few turns later they were standing in front of a friendly looking blond witch sitting behind a desk in the Passport division of the Transportation office.
"Hello, how many I help you today?" She asked with a smile.
"Hi, I need to get my ward a passport," Bill said returning the smile.
"Okay. We will need his birth certificate, your guardianship papers and you will need to fill out an application," she said as she held up a small stack of parchment.
Bill pulled out his own pack and handed them to her as he took the forms from her.
"While you are doing that, I will make duplicates of these," she said as she got to work on Harry's documents.
Bill thanked her and motioned Harry over to a chair at the table.
"Your situation is unique. Usually you have to get passports from your country of origin, but Gringotts helped me set this up." Bill explained as he looked over the forms. When he was done reading the first page he gave it to Harry to read.
"Do you want me to fill it out?" Harry asked seeing the blank spaces.
"No, I'll fill it out. I just thought you would like to see what it says. If you don't want to, that is fine," Bill responded.
"No, I want to. Thank you," Harry said, casting a grateful smile at Bill.
"No problem, Kiddo," the man answered.
Harry looked back down at the pages in his hand, Bill had handed him another page, and started to read them. As Bill would finish one he would hand it to Harry. When Harry would finish reading one he would hand it back to Bill to fill out. It took Bill only a few minutes to fill out all the forms. He had to ask Harry a few questions he didn't know the answer to. Within ten minutes Bill was handing the pages back to the witch behind the counter. She smiled at him again and fluttered the lashes of her big green eyes at him.
"Thank you," she purred. "Here are your wards-" Bill shot her a dark look causing her smile to become forced, scan the papers and stutter the rest out. "Harry's paperwork back. Give me another ten minutes and you'll have your war- Harry's passport,"
"Okay, thank you," Bill said tightly before returning to Harry, who was looking out a window into the city below.
"Is that Cairo?" Harry asked as he used his right hand to motion slightly toward the window.
"Yes it is. The Ministry is in the middle of Cairo. Granted this is the magical section of Cairo," Bill answered.
Harry just nodded. Bill watched Harry look out of the window. Harry could feel the older mans' eyes on him but he continued looking out the window.
"I'm sorry, Bill," Harry whispered.
"For what?" Bill asked his blue eyes widening and his red eyebrows going up.
"You're doing so much for me. Have already done so much…" Harry trailed off and shook his head slightly. "Even after everything, I still wish Sirius was here," Harry whispered closing his eyes against the film of tears.
"Harry, that's okay. Of course you wish he was here. He was your godfather and nothing can or ever will change that. I love having you in my life, but I wish he was here too, to spare you this pain. You miss him and that's okay," Bill whispered comfortingly. "You don't have to be sorry for wishing he was here."
"I just, I didn't want you to think I'm not grateful or that I don't care about you," Harry tried to explain, wringing his hands.
"I understand, but Harry, surely you know he would want you to be happy. That it's okay for you to be happy. Yes, you will be sad, it's still going to hurt and that is okay too," Bill said compassion shining in his voice.
"Yeah, I know, I'm just…" Harry trailed off as he shook his head.
"Struggling," Bill finished for him gently.
Bill reached out and lightly squeezed Harry's wrist. Harry looked up at him and offered a small smile.
"I'm okay," Harry announced softly.
Bill raised an eyebrow at the boy beside him. The skepticism was clear on his face.
"Rather, I will be okay. I might not be right now but I will be given time," Harry corrected himself softly.
"It's good that you know that," the older man said quietly.
"I didn't before, it felt like I would drown in the pain and the loneliness, but you guys, Ron, the twins, Charlie, you, you made me realize I will be okay. It gets better, it just takes time," Harry commented quietly looking down at Bills' hand on his writs.
"Yeah, it does," Bill answered.
Harry looked up at him with a smile.
"Mr. Weasley, I've got your war- Harry's passport finished," the witch called.
Bill stood, motioned for Harry to come with him and went up to the desk. Bill took the passport from the witch.
"Thank you, I hope you enjoy your stay in Egypt," she said with a last flirtatious smile at Bill.
"Thank you. We will," Bill responded with a polite smile before turning to Harry and saying cheerfully "C'mon, kid. We've got some shopping to do."
Harry smiled back at Bill and said softly "Yeah, let's go."
Bill draped an arm across his shoulders and gently steered him out of the building. When they exited the doors outside the heat hit them like a brick wall. Harry's breath caught in his throat and he felt sweat form on his brow.
"I know, Kiddo, but you'll adjust, I promise. And the clothes we will buy will have charms on them to help keep you cool," Bill soothed softly.
"I'm okay," Harry said quietly. "I just wasn't expecting it to be quiet this hot."
Bill ruffled Harry's hair with a smile before guiding him down the street. The ended up in front of Galdrags.
"How many stores do they have worldwide?" Harry asked.
Bill laughed warmly. "I take it you thought it was just a British company."
"Uh, yeah, pretty much," Harry said sheepishly.
The older man smiled as he answered "I think they have stores in every major shopping districts in wizarding communities around the world."
"Makes sense," Harry commented.
Without another word Bill guided Harry into the store.
"Okay," Bill said glancing around the store quickly. "We need the young mens' section. Do you know what sizes you wear?"
Harry glanced down at the floor before confessing softly "No, I don't. I've only ever worn Dudley's cast offs."
Bill reached out and tapped him under his chin until he looked up. Blue eyes locked with green as Bill said in a soft, intense tone "you have nothing to be ashamed of. The fact that you don't know your sizes isn't your fault. Besides, that is easy enough to fix."
Bill pulled out his wand and waved it over Harry while uttering an incantation. Two pieces of parchment appeared in front of Bill. He reached out and grabbed them before handing one to Harry.
"Okay, these are your sizes. I need you to understand something, Harry. Are you listening to me?" Bill said looking intently at the young man.
Harry looked up at Bill. "Yeah, I'm listening," he said quietly.
"I am buying your clothing and whatever else we get today. I do not want you to worry about the prices of anything. You need a whole new wardrobe, some stuff for your room and some games and books. I know that it's going to get a bit expensive and that is okay. I can afford to splurge on you. What's more, I want to. Can we agree on that?" Bill told Harry quietly, carefully watching his reaction.
"I, I don't know. I've never had someone else buy me stuff before, I don't know. The only thing I can say is I'll try. The few good articles of clothing I have I bought myself with money I worked for. I've never accepted charity," Harry said with a bit of uncertainty.
"Kiddo, it's not charity. You are mine now. Mine to finish raising, mine to take care of, and mine to care for." Bill responded with a warm smile as he reached out to pull the boy closer to him. Bill gently bumped his arm into Harry's before saying "Okay? Are we good to get started?"
"Yeah," Harry breathed out. "Let's go."
They set out across the store looking for signs that point to the young mens' section. They finally found it on the second floor.
"Okay, you need at least seven pairs of jeans, three pairs of dress trousers, twelve to fourteen tee shirts, several sweaters and sweat shirts, three dress shirts, pajamas, under shirts, underwear, socks, dress shoes, trainers, boots… Did I miss anything?" Bill turned to look at Harry as he asked the last part.
Harry just looked at Bill with wide eyes. "Uh," Harry struggled for words. "I dunno."
Bill laughed as he wrapped his arm around Harry. "Okay, we'll figure it out as we go. Right then, jeans are right here so let's start with them. I think you'll probably be the most comfortable with relaxed fit. They won't be too tight or too baggy. Which do you like?" Bill inquired as he looked through the rack. "Light, stone, or dark wash?"
"Bill, you've got more style then I do. What do you think?" Harry asked, eyeing the pants in the older man's hands.
"I think any of them will look good on you. Go try these on." Bill directed, thrusting several pair of jeans at him.
"Is there a difference between these except color?" Harry asked confused.
Bill laughed warmly again as he pulled several out of the pile in Harry's arms to explain patiently "These are relaxed fit," he pulled a few more out of his arms "These are low rise, which means they will sit at your hips instead of higher up at your waist. The ones you are holding are a bit baggier than the relaxed fit." Bill gave them back to Harry in their groups. "When you've tried them on let me see at least one of each style, please. I want to be sure the sizes are right," he explained.
"Okay," the young man mumbled looking around. "Where do I try these on at?"
Bill glanced around for a minute before finally spotting a fitting area. "Down there," he said pointing toward it. "Let's go."
"Right behind you," Harry responded with a smile.
"Your arms tired yet?" Bill asked over his shoulder as he made his way toward the fitting rooms.
"No, but these are heavier than I thought they would be," he said with a shake of his head, trying to move the black locks from in front of his eyes.
"Okay, choose a stall to change in. When you come be sure the door doesn't lock behind you. If it does it's not that big of a deal, we'd just have to find a sales assistant," Bill instructed before motioning Harry into the fitting room with exaggerated movements from his hands, causing Harry to laugh as he chose a room.
Harry went to the first unoccupied fitting room and pulled the door shut behind him. He hung up the jeans on the door. The stone at the top of the door lit up with a soft blue glow. Harry looked at it in confusion before he glanced at the rest of the small room. There was a mirror to the left of the door, a small bench at the back wall and the other wall was blank except for a hook. He pulled off his shoes and cotton trousers Bill gave him earlier. He folded them and set the soft cotton pants on the bench as he kicked his shoes under the bench so he didn't trip over them. He turned, grabbed the first pair of jeans and pulled them on. Harry looked in the mirror before he left the fitting room. He shut the door carefully behind him, making sure it didn't latch.
"Hey Bill?" Harry called as he wandered out of the fitting area.
The jeans were too long without shoes. An inch or so was pooling around this feet. Bill came back into sight from around the corner of the fitting area.
"Hey, Kiddo! Looking good! How do they feel? Are they comfortable?" Bill fired off with a grin at the black haired kid.
Harry looked at him deadpan as he said "Hey big brother, thank you, good, yes."
Bill smiled at Harry before saying sarcastically "Funny."
Harry grinned at him as he arched his left eyebrow.
"Which ones are they?" Bill asked as he reached out and gently pushed the side of the boy's head, before ruffling his hair slightly.
"Uh, I dunno," he said ducking the hand in his hair. "The relaxed fit."
"You telling me or asking me?" Bill questioned with a bemused smile.
"Telling you, the relaxed fit are in the front, then the low rise and lastly the baggy. I like the dark wash. I think they make me look taller," Harry responded.
Bill looked him over again then said "Yeah, they do. They look good. Go put on another pair," Bill told Harry.
"Okay and thanks!" Harry said back over his shoulder as he made his way back into the fitting room.
Twenty minutes later Harry and Bill were standing outside the fitting area.
"Okay, I like all the relaxed fit and the low rise. I don't like the baggy ones. They remind me of Dudley's clothes," he said to Bill, slightly uncertain.
"I agree with you. I think the first six look great on you," Bill confirmed.
"So which of the six should I get?" Harry asked looking up at Bill.
"You're getting them all." Bill stated.
"What? Bill I don't need-" Harry started.
Bill cut in, saying in a firm tone "Yes you do. In fact we are going to see if we can find a few more."
"Bill, do I really need that many pairs of jeans? I mean, most of the year I'll be at school and unable to wear anything other than my uniforms except on the weekends. So does it really make sense for me to have that many jeans? Plus, you want me to get dress trousers as well," Harry tried to reason.
"I thought you were going to let me buy you what you need?" Bill said studying his baby brother.
"I just, I don't, I don't think I need that much clothing," Harry forced out.
Bill reached out and gently forced the boy's head up with a hand under his chin. "If you don't agree with me that is fine. We'll talk about it. Disagreeing with me won't get you into trouble. As long as you are respectful when you disagree with me I won't be angry with you. You do not have to be afraid of disagreeing with me," Bill said in a gentle, comforting tone as he dropped his hand. "Do you understand?"
"Yeah," Harry confirmed, blowing out a deep breath. "I get it. I, all I can say is that I'll try."
"Harry, that's all I'm asking of you. To try. I know it's going to be hard for you for a while, but as long as you are trying, how could I be anything but proud of you," Bill said affectionately before reaching out to stroke Harry's hair. "Now," he continued in a business like tone. "What is this about you not needing that many jeans? That is a pair for everyday of the week. That is definitely not an excess amount of jeans. I will admit I would like nothing more than to spoil you but I also know you would not be comfortable with that. So, we are keeping everything to an average amount. Yes, you could get by with less, but then you would be doing laundry twice a week or so. If you don't have to why would you want to? I also realize you can usually wear pants more than once before needing to wash them. I'll compromise with you; we'll stop at six pairs and move onto shirts. Sound good?"
Harry looked up at him, took a deep breath and let it out before responding with a soft "Yeah."
Bill guided him over to the racks and shelves of short sleeved and long sleeved tee shirts.
"I'm thinking we can pick you up some polo shirts as well. What do you think?" Bill purposed as they looked through racks.
"Yeah, sure," Harry said looking up from the green long sleeved shirt he was looking at.
"You really don't care what clothes you wear, do you?" Bill asked amusement shining from his blue eyes.
"Bill," Harry said on an exhale. "After what they made me wear almost anything is a step up or a leap up. But no, as long as it fits right, is in at least decent condition and is comfortable, I really don't care what I wear."
"Okay," Bill said with a smile. "That's okay. Most of the time I feel that way too. I'd rather be comfortable than try to impress everyone with the way I look. It's all about comfort, really, because if you are not comfortable in your own clothing, it shows."
Harry smiled back at him before he went back to looking through racks. Over the next hour and a half they found seven polo shirts for him in white, black, sky blue, plum, emerald green, scarlet, and light gray. They also found several short and long sleeved tee shirts. Some were plain colors while others had sayings or graphics on them. They then found him several pairs of cream colored light cotton pants and tunics that would be perfect for daylight hours in Egypt. After that they moved on to underclothing and pajamas. Finally they got him boot, trainers and dress shoes.
"Well, Kiddo, I do believe we have everything we came for. What'd you think? Are we good to go or do you want anything else?" Bill asked as he set the basket he was carrying on the ground and stretched out his back.
Harry put his basket down beside Bill's and said in a soft, tired voice "Nope. I really think I'm good to go." He looked up at Bill and said with a slight smile "Thank you for this."
"You're welcome, Har. Let's go pay for this so we can go get stuff for your room," Bill said as he picked up his basket again.
"What do I need in my room?" Harry asked picking up his own basket and following the red head.
Bill stopped walking, causing Harry to almost run into him. He turned around and looked down at him. "Kiddo, the only thing in your room is a bed."
Harry just looked at him.
Bill looked down at the boy beside him with a slightly sad look in his eyes, shook his head and slung an arm around Harry's shoulders before saying "You need a desk, a desk chair, maybe an armchair, bookshelves, posters or decorations for you walls, different bedding if you want it and other knick knacks."
"Knick knacks?" Harry asked looking up at his oldest brother with an eyebrow arched slightly.
Bill pushed his shoulder slightly as he moved his arm and said "Yes knick knacks. You know decorations for your room. Speaking of which, what are you interested in?"
"That was a little random Bill," Harry commented.
"Not really. Your interests should be shown in your room. So, again, what are you interested in?" Bill said with an easy going smile.
Harry looked off into space for a bit. His head tilted to the right, his eyes still distant as he started softly "Well, not many people know this, no one I see on a daily basis anyway, but I play the guitar and draw and paint when I have the time."
"That's cool. I'd love to hear you play sometime and see what you have drawn and painted." Bill said softly.
Harry shook his head to clear it before looking up at Bill in slight surprise. "I've never told anyone that."
He smiled warmly down at Harry before saying "I'm glad you told me. Do you have your guitar and art supplies here?"
"Yeah, they are in my trunk. I got cases for both so that they shrink when put away for easier storage. It's nice. At first I was worried about damaging my equipment or work but it doesn't." Harry said.
They paid quickly and had everything put into a single bag which then Bill shrunk and stuck in his pocket.
"Okay, next stop Urban Home," Bill announced once they were outside.
"I'm following you," Harry pointed out when Bill stopped to look at him.
"I know that Kiddo. I just wanted to make sure you were still with me. So what do you think of Cairo so far? Besides it being hot?" Bill answered with a smile, drawing the boy up beside him with a gentle hand on his elbow.
"It's nice. I think I'll enjoy spending time here. I'm really looking forward to meeting you team though," the boy confessed.
Bill smiled down at him. "They are looking forward to meeting you too. So dinner with them tonight sounds good to you, it won't be too much for you?"
Harry shook his head causing hair to fall into his emerald green eyes. He pushed it back with an irritated jerk of his hand. "No, I'm actually looking forward to it."
Bill watched Harry fight with his hair before offering "I could cut that for you."
"No, that's okay. I'm trying to let it grow out a bit. I hope it'll be more manageable that way. I don't want it as long as yours, not that there is anything wrong with yours. I don't really want it longer than my collar or so. Just enough to hopefully get it to stay down," Harry explained.
Bill looked at him appraisingly before murmuring "Yeah that would look good on you."
They stood there for another minute with Bill looking at Harry. Harry was becoming more amused as time passed but finally he broke into the older man's thoughts by saying quietly "Bill, we need to go."
"Oh, yeah, right, sorry. Let's go get you some stuff for your room." Bill said shaking himself out of his stupor.
Bill set off back up the street. As he passed stores he kept up a running commentary for Harry about what the stores they were passing sold. Harry kept looking at Bill out of the corner of his eyes, concerned. Bill wasn't acting like himself and Harry was unsure why. When they arrived outside of Urban Homes Bill motioned him inside first then followed him into the cool store. Harry looked around him in slight awe.
"There is so much… stuff," he mumbled.
"Yep, let's go. Okay we need to find a desk that you like," Bill said setting off toward the back of the store with Harry trailing along behind him.
The spent ten minutes before Harry found one he liked. It was a maple colored wood with a black metal frame. It was slightly larger than the average desk but it had storage below the desk built in with two drawers on one side and an open space with shelves on the other. They took a slip of parchment that had stamped on it the desk number. They then found a straight backed metal desk chair. It had a blue seat cover on it. The metal on the back formed a dragon with its wings spread open sitting behind an egg. Bill and Harry shared a smile when they saw it.
"I like this one, Bill," Harry said quietly.
Bill was already taking a slip of parchment from the holder as he answered "Yeah, I thought you might."
They quickly found some shelving and light fixtures before making their way toward the check out. When it was their turn the witch took the slips of parchment from Bill, looked at them, asked Bill where he would like them delivered to and after she had her answer she waved her wand over them. The slips glowed orange then faded away.
"Your purchases will arrive at your destination within an hour. Your total will be thirty seven Galleons, twelve Sickles and eight Knuts," the witch said in a bored tone, not looking at either guy before her. She accepted the money Bill gave her, counted it again before saying in the same monotone "Have a pleasant day."
Harry and Bill went back outside into the heat.
"Are you hungry Harry?" Bill asked looking down at Harry. "We have time to grab a light lunch."
"Yeah, I'm starting to get hungry," Harry said quietly.
"Okay, there is a good café back the way we came. Let's go get some lunch before we start on your room," Bill said as he turned to go back the way they came.
"I noticed there is a mix of wizarding robes and cotton pants and tunics like we are wearing, who wears what here?" Harry asked looking around at the different people.
"Good question, Kiddo," Bill praised with a happy smile.
Harry smiled up at him as Bill continued in the same tone "The people who are wearing robes are foreigners. The ones wearing clothing like ours are either nationals or people who work here, like me. People like me who work here are not considered nationals. We live here but we are not given that title. You have to live and work here for something like twenty years before they will grant you that title. Oh, here we are." Bill said as they walked up to the café.
They went into the cool building and were greeted by a waiter.
"Just two of you today gentlemen?" he asked in English.
"Yes, thank you," Bill replied.
The waiter led them to a table by the windows at the front right side of the building.
"May I take your drink orders or do you need time to decide?" he asked politely.
"We will both have Shai, please," Bill responded.
"Of course. I will give you time to look at the menu." he said before leaving to get their drinks.
Harry looked up at Bill, from a menu that he couldn't read most of, patiently waiting for an explanation.
Seeing the look Bill said "Mint tea," before looking back at his own menu.
Harry watched him for another minute before asking quietly "You can read this? I don't even know what language this is."
"This," the older man began, looking up from his own menu. "Is Egyptian Arabic or Masri. It is the most commonly spoken language in Egypt but it is not officially recognized. The official language is Standard Arabic. This café is one of the few places you will find Masri written down."
"You read and speak Arabic?" the boy asked with wide eyes. "Why not just use a translation charm?"
"I do use one and I put one on you as well. Most people you will meet will know English, however I have been here a while and I made it a point to pick up the language. Nationals like when we can speak to them in their native tongue. It shows respect for them and their culture. It is something I felt was important to learn."
Harry nodded and said after a minute of thought, "Yeah, I can understand that and the reasoning behind it."
"Are you okay with me ordering for us? There are two dishes here that I believe you will like. The first is gebna makleyah. It is oven-fried cheese. It is served with aish shaami and aish baladi. Aish shaami is bread made from white flour and aish baladi is bread made from whole wheat flour. Aish shaami and aish baladi are like pita bread except aish is chewier and thicker. The other is a dish made with lentils, macaroni, rice and ceci also known as chickpeas. That is called koushari. Koushari is also served with aish shaami and aish baladi. Sound good?" Bill said looking at Harry.
"Yeah, sure, that sounds great," he responded with a smile.
Their waiter came back with their tea and Bill placed their order.
"Bill," Harry said as they were settling in with their tea. "Will you teach me how to say thank you in Masri?"
"Yeah, of course I will," the man responded happily. "Thank you is shukran."
"Shukran," Harry said slowly, sounding it out, trying to pronounce it like Bill pronounced it.
Bill grinned at him and said "Good job!"
"Shukran," Harry said with a grin.
Bill started laughing. They spent the next fifteen minutes talking about what they were going to do to Harry's room when they got back to the flat. When the waiter returned they were talking about where to put Harry's desk in his room. The waiter placed the dishes of food on the table and then gave them some plates.
"Is there anything else I can get for you gentlemen?" He asked with a smile.
"No, thank you," Bill answered.
The waiter smiled again before leaving them to their meal. Bill dished out some gebna makleyah for himself, motioning for Harry to take some koushari. Harry dished himself out a small amount of koushari and took a piece of aish shaami and aish baladi, wanting to try both. Bill passed him the dish of gebna makleyah and took the koushari from him. Harry took a bit of the cheese and a bit more bread. They settled into a relaxing silence as they ate.
"Are you enjoying your lunch?" Bill asked after a few minutes, breaking the comfortable quiet.
"Yeah, Bill, this is really great! I love both!" Harry responded with a big smile before it wilted slightly as he continued saying softly "I, I wasn't sure at first, but this is your home and I wanted to give it a chance. I wanted, want, to experience the Egypt you talk about. You love this place and I hope I will be able to some day as well."
Bill reached across the table, gently took Harry's left hand in his own and squeezed it.
"Just the fact that you want to try, that you even want that at all, means a lot to me. Shukran." Bill said roughly, his blue eyes slightly misty.
Harry smiled back at him, filled with the love that only exists between brothers.
They spent the next forty minutes eating, talking and laughing quietly. Bill watched as Harry relaxed more and more as the time passed. While they were talking about Bill's coworkers Harry went quiet all of a sudden. The smile on his face was replaced by a thoughtful look. Bill let him think for almost five minutes in silence before softly calling out to him.
"Harry? Are you okay? You went quite all of a sudden, is everything okay?"
Harry started slightly before focusing back on Bill.
"Yeah," he said in a slightly hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and continued. "Yeah, I'm good."
"What were you thinking about?" Bill probed gently.
Harry didn't say anything for a minute, gathering his thoughts before saying in a soft, contemplating tone "I… realized as we were sitting here talking… that I have never felt this at home anywhere before. It doesn't matter that we are in a café in a country I haven't even been in for twenty four hours…" he trailed off trying to collect his shaky voice by taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly before continuing in a wondering tone "All that matters is that I'm with you, my big brother, and the knowledge that you wouldn't want me anywhere else. I can see how happy you are with me being here. For the first time in, Merlin I can't remember, I'm not constantly on so high an alert that I can't enjoy myself. If I did this in England, I would be so tense and stressed out, looking for an attack every time someone so much as shifted. I can relax here. No one has started pointing or talking or screaming or cursing me. I'm in public and I'm just…" he trailed off again to control his shaky voice. He ran a hand over his not quite dry eyes and dropped it back down to the table and clenched it into a fist against the emotions racing through him.
Bill reached out and took his hand, gently forcing it open. He cradled it in his own as he stroked the back of it with his thumb.
"Take your time baby brother," Bill whispered.
Harry looked up at Bill and saw tender blue eyes watching him. He felt Bill's strong hand holding his own, his thumb stroking soothingly over the back of it. He relaxed, allowing that small comfort to sooth him.
"For the first time since I entered the wizarding world five years ago I'm in public without being mobbed. For the first time, in so very long, I'm just another face in the crowd. I've missed that feeling so much. I've missed not having to be afraid. I know you would do everything in your power to protect me and that scares me too because I know what the price of that could be, but here… here, it doesn't feel like you'll have to. Thank you for bringing me here." Harry whispered before reaching up and swiping at his eyes again.
Seeing that it was soothing the boy Bill continued to stroke delicate hand in his own. This obviously brought him comfort, but usually Harry refused to let anyone hold or even look at his hands for too long. For the first time he really looked at them and he could clearly see they were the hands of an artist. Long, graceful fingers, finger pads calloused from the guitar, thin, boney hands perfect for holding a paint brush. There was also a scar in the shape of lettering. Bill looked at Harry to see his eyes were closed so he looked closer and his heart clenched at the sight of I must not tell lies carved into the flesh of his baby brother's hand. It made him sick, it made him furious, it made him sad. It was the obvious work of a blood quill and the only place that he would have encountered one was Hogwarts. There was only one person in that school last year who would have used that on a student and that thought made his blood boil.
Harry opened his eyes, managing to have collected himself. He looked at Bill and saw an odd look on his face. There were too many emotions in those blue depths to define all of them, but none looked good. Harry then realized what hand Bill was holding and he felt his heart skip several beats before starting again, pounding twice as hard. He gently, reluctantly removed his hand from Bill's and cursing himself when it shook slightly. He clenched it into a fist so tight that he felt the sharp stab of his fingernails cutting into the flesh of his palm. He put both hands under the table so Bill wouldn't see. When he looked back up, Bill's eyes were on his face.
"I'm sorry, baby boy. I'm so very sorry," Bill whispered in an anguished tone.
"Bill, this wasn't your fault, I, she, they…" Harry floundered for words.
"It's okay," Bill said offering a comforting smile. "I'm not angry at you, right now, I'm not even angry, yes, that will come, but it will not be at you. This is not your fault. Right now, I'm sad for you. Sad that you had to suffer in a place you should have been safe."
Bill's eyes were filled with tears as he stood up and came around to Harry's side of the table. When he was next to the boy he wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head.
"C'mon, Kiddo, let's go home. We've got a room to decorate."
Harry's head snapped up at that. The tone wasn't quite cheerful but it wasn't as sad as it was before. He looked at his brother closely, trying to read him. When he looked into the blue eyes instead of tears he saw warmth and love directed at him.
"We'll talk about it later, but now, like I said, we've got a room that's in need of decorating and some people who are anxious to meet you. So let's go. We've got work to do!" Bill said in a slightly forced cheerful tone.
Harry offered him a genuine smile as he allowed his big brother to pull him to his feet.
"Thanks Bill. Now let's go get to work, we've been lazy long enough," Harry said with a teasing grin before making his way to the till with Bill. When they got there Bill presented the bill and paid for it.
"Thank you for coming and I hope you have a most pleasant day," the waiter said with a smile at both of them.
"Shukran," Harry said before Bill could say anything.
The waiter look surprised, then touched while Bill just looked at him with pride. Bill thanked the man then guided his brother back out into the sunshine and heat.
When they were back in the Alley Bill wrapped his arm around Harry again and pulled him close.
"I am so very proud of you," he whispered into the boy's ear. "And I love you so much."
"I love you too Bill," Harry's voice was muffled because he buried his face in Bill's chest, trusting the older man to guide him.
They walked a few more feet to the Apparition point and got in line. The few wizards in front of them were done quickly then it was their turn.
"Okay Kiddo, just hold on to me and everything will be fine," Bill said as he wrapped his other arm around Harry as well.
Harry wrapped both arms around Bill's waist and grabbed his tunic just to be safe. He buried his face in Bill's chest again and closed his eyes. Harry opened his eyes to see the sitting room of their home when he felt Bill relax his grip on him and begin to stroke his hair. They stood like that for several minutes, Harry with his head on Bill's chest and Bill stroking his hair and slightly rocking them both unconsciously.
"C'mon, Kiddo, we got work to do!" Bill announced happily as he pulled away with a light slap to Harry's right hip before starting off down the hallway. "Let's go get your room done!"
"Right behind you!" Harry called as he hurried to catch up.
Author's Note: I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! If ya have time, please let me know what you thought. Thank you for reading and until next time, I hope you are safe and happy.
~Lynn