A/N Sorry for the long wait, I've been very busy with my studies! But now that it's the holidays, I have more time and hopefully I can write some more. (Although no promises, as I have lots of holiday work too)
Meanwhile, thank you for all your helpful reviews! Some people mentioned that Ron and Hermione rushed their relationship in a OOC way, but I always thought that they would have hidden their relationship from Harry – perhaps Hermione was afraid of hurting him. Remember, Harry just assumed, a bit hot-headedly as he does, that they were having sex, but they weren't really.
I'll keep writing now! Happy reading!
Chapter 6
When Harry burst into an almost empty street, he was momentarily disorientated, because he had never used this entrance to Diagon Alley before. The last time he had used Floo Powder, he ended up in Borgin and Burkes, a shop in Knockturn Alley. But this time it had expelled him from a fireplace outside the Post Office, which seemed to be one of the only shops that remained open.
Keep an eye out for Fred and George, he reminded himself before setting off in the opposite direction to the trickle of wary shoppers. The only person that wasn't scuttling around was an old man resting on a bench. He seemed out of breath and was holding his ribs delicately. Harry noticed that nobody was stopping to help him and hoped he would be all right. There was nothing he could do for him anyway.
Yet something was compelling about this man. His robes were tattered and his hair was wispy and falling out in clumps. Harry pulled a Gallon out of his pocket and slipped it into the man's pocket.
Satisfied that he had done his best, Harry moved on through the frosty atmosphere towards Gringotts. He watched a small rat skulk in the shadows and was reminded of Wormtail. But this rat was thinner, it had no tail. He almost laughed as he thought about how Wormtail might have a silver paw to add to his rat's form now.
The rat froze and seemed to be struggling against an invisible force that made Harry stop in his tracks. A muttered voice whispered triumphantly, "I think I've got him Ginny!" and Fred Weasley slipped out and spot the rat.
"Shit."
"What is it?"
"It's just a rat. But we'll get him, don't worry Gin."
He freed the rat and lay the barrier down again before returning to Ginny. Harry felt touched that Ginny was worried about him, but was also relieved that the rat had fallen victim to this trap instead of himself. He picked up the rat and stroked it, to calm it down. It could help him get to Gringotts.
But what should he do about this barrier? He didn't know whether he could fly over it and if he broke it, Fred would probably be warned. Then it hit him. If the rat got caught by the barrier again, the barrier would be stopped for a minute, for the rat to be set free. During this break, Harry could slip through untouched.
Setting the rat down again and prodding it back into the right direction, he waited until it had frozen again for Fred's voice.
"Stay here. It might be him."
As he saw the rat again Fred let out a sigh before exclaiming, "How many rats do we have here? It's filthy. You shouldn't sit on the floor Gin." He released the rat and Harry slipped through, following it, "You don't know what you could catch from them."
Harry hoped that George's trap wasn't any more difficult, because all he had to protect himself was really a rat and an Invisibility Cloak. As he turned another corner, he recognised Fortesque's closed Ice Cream shop and knew that he didn't have far to go, until he finally reached his destination. And Lupin, of course.
He was the only person heading towards it, which was slightly unnerving, because it meant that Lupin could have blocked any possible entrance to it. For all he knew, he could be heading straight into an elaborate trap.
But he could was supposed to have got stuck in Fred's trap. They couldn't have guessed he would make it through undetected, could they? Harry was starting to feel slightly paranoid, as the silence of what was once a busy street continued eerily.
He watched the rat turn into an alleyway and regretted letting it go. But would they use the same trick twice? Or would he need some kind of password to pass by? He couldn't really imagine what he'd have to do now.
Gringotts was in sight now and he could see a few witches and wizards passing inside, without any trouble. He stepped behind a plump wizard and stepped through the doors with him, shocked to have made it this far. He scouted the room quickly for signs of Lupin or his trap and found him sitting down, looking bored. He was watching the desk as if waiting for Harry to reveal himself.
This stunned Harry's thoughts as he understood that there must be a reason for this. Why would Harry possibly walk up to the desk, undisguised, and wait to be caught?
How else could he get his money out?
He felt stupid again. Why hadn't he realised that he wouldn't be let into his vault if he was invisible. Harry pushed his way out of the room and almost knocked a thin lady over, but pulled her back up before her husband turned around and noticed. He slipped out again behind an old woman and felt a hand grab his wrist strongly. He was pulled away from the other people and recognised Lupin's satisfied smile.
"Hello Harry."
He contemplated whether he had any reason not to reply, and decided that it wouldn't set him back any further.
"How did you see me?"
Lupin chuckled and muttered, "I saw the woman perform a strange feat of acrobatics and after all the experience I've had with that cloak, I had a feeling that you were involved. You also disturbed the motion in the crowd considerably. James often made that mistake."
His smile faded away and his face grew sterner.
"More importantly, why did you leave the Burrow? You know that it isn't safe for you to wander around on your own. Your friends are all worried about you."
"That doesn't matter."
He looked weary, but not surprised that Harry didn't want to tell him. He ran his free hand through his hair and continued,
"I'm going to take you back, Mrs Weasley is frantic, as Ron and Hermione didn't inform anyone until after Bill and Fleur had left for their honeymoon. You'll have to explain somehow."
"I don't care. I'm not going back."
Harry noticed that the force on his wrist had slackened and he ripped it out of Lupin's grasp and ducked down as Lupin groped around for him.
"Harry! Let me finish!"
He knew better than to reply this time so he stayed sitting against a wall, watching his former teacher try to detect him from the people's movements in the crowd. Fortunately, Lupin soon realised that he was probably gone, so he stopped and leaned back against the wall.
"He'll be back." Lupin muttered to himself softly. More than a trace of worry lined his worn face and Harry felt ashamed for making this man's life more difficult. But before Harry could think any deeper about Lupin and his troubles, the giant doors of Gringotts Bank crashed open and several Death Eaters burst in.