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Chapter Summary: Harry and Remus go to the bookstore...

A/N: Wow, a lot of people reviewed in response to my question about what two elements you all would be! I found your many different combinations very interesting to read. –Smiles- I truly appreciate the fact that so many of you have stuck by me this far into my story. I know I haven't been updating as much as you all would like, thanks to school. But I'm glad (and grateful) that you've all been bearing with me. –Smiles-

Chapter 25: Darkness Under The Three-Quarter Moon

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Harry and Remus walked hand in hand down the sidewalk of the small town they lived, passing the very playground where Harry met his best friend Ronald Weasley. It does not take much to guess why Sirius is not accompanying them on their little trip to town. Remus had gone into Sirius' room to inform him of where he and Harry were off to, and the look his friend gave him was not one anyone would particularly want to be on the receiving end of. Remus had said that Sirius really needed to just accept the fact that he was not going to be able to keep 'reading' out of the house, and Sirius said he would but that it was just…ugh… Once past that, Sirius dryly said for them to enjoy themselves - "As much as one can in a bloody 'bookstore'…" - , and that this would give him some time to floo up to Diagon Alley, get a few needed things, and pick up the newest Daily Prophet paper.

"There it is!" proclaimed Harry, looking up at a Remus, a pleading gaze in his green eyes. The Lupin nodded and the six year old happily wiggled his hand out of the werewolf's grasp and ran the rest of the sidewalk, whirling back around once he reached the beginning of the store parking lot waiting eagerly for Remus to catch up so that they could go on in.

"Aw, come on, Moony! You're slow..." the messy raven haired child mock-pouted, putting his hands on his hips. Remus chuckled at this display, Harry was always a sight. ...But before he could reply, the Potter lowered his hands from their previous position, raised his right one, palm up, until it was outstretched in front of him, and a powerful gust of air hit Remus from behind, nearly throwing him off balance. Skipping a few steps, in order to keep up with the wind that wanted to keep pushing him forward. Remus reached Harry, and the second he did the wind died straight away, leaving only the nice breeze it had been to begin with. Harry lowered his hand, and smiled innocently up at Remus.

"Harry! You know you can't do magic out here!" Remus admonished gently, looking around, trying to assess if anyone had seen what had presently occurred. Merlin knew that all they needed was for magical use to be picked up from way out here. Their hideaway would be screwed. Yes, they had spells on and around their house to prevent magical detection from not only the ministry, but also anyone else that had the ability to pick up such things. …But out here?

Let's just hope it wasn't strong enough to be distinguished from anything other than regular wind… Remus told himself uncertainly.

"But…there isn't anyone around, Moony," stated Harry honestly, not understanding what he might have done wrong. He knew doing magic in front of Muggles was not good. But there was not anyone in seeing distance of what he had just done…

So why…?

"That doesn't matter, Harry. It's not the people around us that we truly have to worry about, okay?" Remus conveyed, earnestly.

"Okay…" repeated Harry, slightly crestfallen, understanding, but not understanding.

Smiling softly, Remus admitted, "Not that it wasn't fun, though. You should show that little technique to Padfoot when we get home."

"You think he'd like it?" asked Harry, face brightening once more, positively bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Like it? He'd love it!" grinned Remus. Harry smiled widely at this. "But let's hurry up and get inside, the sun's going to be going down soon, and you want to get a new book, don't you?"

Eyes widening at the comprehension that his little 'wind show' had cost him more time than it had bought him, Harry nodded rapidly, grasped Remus' hand and led him across the empty street, passed the parking lot which was somewhat full, and into the moderately sized bookstore.

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-Miles away in the Diagon Alley of London- (…The only 'Diagon Alley', actually…)

Sirius Black walked into Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions, not to look for a new set of robes, but a set of gloves. And not just any kind of gloves either. He wanted…

"Fire resistant gloves," said Sirius, rather bluntly and upfront.

"Fire…resistant gloves?" Madam Malkin repeated as though asking him if he knew actually what he wanted, it was not every day she received that kind of request.

"Erm…yeah. I'm, er, horrible at muggle cooking," stated Sirius, giving the woman a complete truth, even though that was not the real reason he wanted the gloves. "I've been trying my hand at it, and each time I've ended up setting my cooking gloves on fire. And have you ever tried to cook a marshmallow with fire and not a wand?"

Madam Malkin chuckled at this and shook her head 'no'. "I've never had reason to."

"Well…it burns."

"I would imagine so," she smiled. "I'll go check and see if I've got in stock the material you need."

Sirius nodded his thanks and the plumpish woman bustled off.

Sighing, he leaned against the back wall and gazed around dispassionately, if not a little haughtily, as his mind wandered to his Godson - to Prongslet. Who was, at this moment, for all Sirius knew, buying a new 'book'. The mere thought gave Sirius an urge to shudder. He could not believe that he had had the boy for almost three years, had talked about and taught him more marauder qualities than not, and still Remus had gotten into the boy's yet moldable young mind.

'Reading', honestly! Of 'all' the character-traits he could've picked up or learned from Moony, it was 'reading' for Merlin's sake!

Now, Sirius knew, in the deepest part of his mind filled with things he would not accept, that reading was not such a bad thing. It was a good thing, in fact. And, though he would never admit it out loud or even openly to himself, he was happy, on some level, that if Harry had picked up anything from Remus, it was Remus' fondness of reading and love for knowledge. It would help his Godson in the long run; Sirius knew this, even though, right now, it did not make him feel that way.

Before he could reflect more on the subject, Madam Malkin came back to bring him over so she could take his hand measurements, saying that she believed she had just enough of the specific fabric to make his set of gloves.

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Harry sat on a mini colorful couch, in the kid's section of the bookstore, reading a book. He had asked Remus if he could sit here and read while he tried to decide which one he wanted to buy, whilst Remus went to look for one for himself. The older man had agreed, telling Harry that they could not stay too long, but that Harry could do so for a little while. There were other children in the bookstore as well; Harry had taken notice of them, but most of them, unlike him, where just looking around for coloring books and such. Turning back to his book, absorbedly reading, happy he had yet to find a word he did not know, the young Potter did not realize that he had company. Usually, he knew when someone was near him, for he could pick up on their emotional signature, but in a store this size, and so many people going to and fro, Harry had lowered his receiving ability so as not to be overloaded. A little trick Padfoot had taught him how to do early in the year.

The bushy haired, brown eyed, seven-year-old girl standing in front of him, with a book in her hand, went on unnoticed - which, unbeknown to Harry, seemed to be annoying her - , until, with a huff, she sat down next to him, the cushions of the couch going down in the process thanks to their combined weight. Using his peripheral vision, Harry looked over from his book and saw her reading from her own. Though it did not look like it was something she wanted to do. Truth be told, Harry got a sense that she was trying to control some urge or strong curiosity that was trying to burst forth from her. He doubted it was the fact that she had realized 'who' he was, for this was a Muggle place and the chances that she was a witch were extremely minimal. Therefore, shrugging mentally, Harry returned to his book, just a few pages from the end.

The girl took this time to look over at him through her peripheral vision. She came to this store often and, one, had never seen him around before, and, two, it was an extreme rarity for her to find someone else who actually enjoyed sitting down and reading something. He turned the page, read, turned again, now on the last page of a book she could not see the name of. A smile was spreading across his lips, and she could not take it anymore. Putting her book roughly down on her lap, she turned to him.

"Are you really reading?" she questioned, a hint of bossiness in her tone.

"Umm…" Harry finished the last line, closed the book, and then looked back at the girl. "Yeah, why?"

"It's just…I've never seen…what's your name?"

"Harry…Potter," replied Harry tentatively.

"I'm Hermione Granger. And I think it's very nice that you really came here to read, not very many people do. But, I mean, who comes to a bookstore if not to read? Honestly! I find it awfully annoying when people come in and act as if this place was not important," the girl, Hermione, as it were, said all this in exceedingly rapid succession, as though she had never talked about this to anyone else and was glad to get it out of her system.

Harry was not sure if he agreed with all her logic, but he did not think it would be wise to tell her so. She looked like someone one did not want as an enemy.

"So, are you thinking about getting a book to take home?"

"Yeah, but I haven't picked one yet."

"Ohh, here, come with me!" And without warning, she grabbed Harry's hand and began pulling him to the back of the kid's section of the store.

"Here you are," said Hermione, smiling widely as she released Harry and picked up a shimmering greenish book and placed it into his hands.

"What's this?" asked Harry, looking at the cover of the book where the words "Magically Magical" were written in gold.

"It's a book about magic, of course. I liked it."

"But not real magic, this is a Muggle store," stated Harry without much though. Hermione gave the green eyed male a questioning look, as though trying to understand what he meant. Becoming conscious of what he had just said out loud, Harry closed his eyes, mentally hitting himself over the head for not thinking before he had talked. Not only had he called this a 'Muggle' place, but he had said so in front of a Muggle, something Padfoot and Moony had told him they were not supposed to do. Muggles were not to know about magic in any shape or form. Harry did not exactly know why this was so, but if Padfoot and Moony said it was so, then it was so. He had no doubt about that, for his guardians had never once told him something that was not true.

"Muggle? What's a muggle? And what do you mean not real magic?" inquired Hermione, her eyes alight with curiosity. The very questions Harry had been dreading most to hear come from her, but had known would. Taking a steadying breath, putting his thoughts in proper order, Harry opened his expressive emerald green eyes to meet inquisitive brown ones.

"'Muggle' means…normal." There, that was not a complete lie, at least. "Yeah! This is a Muggle bookstore, a normal one, not a big one… Get it?" Harry chuckled uneasily. Hermione's eyes narrowed shrewdly, but she said nothing against Harry's definition of the word. Merlin knew he could not lie to save his life, and Hermione did not look like an easy to deceive girl. The next sentence that came out of his mouth, "And of course it's not real magic. There is…no…real magic," brought Harry sudden troubling memories of when he lived with the Dursley's, but he did not let them overtake him. Gone were the days when they did. Shaking his head of the recollections - looking like he was shaking his head 'no' to better prove his point, in Hermione's opinion, anyway - Harry refocused on the moment at hand.

"You don't believe in magic?" asked Hermione, looking at Harry as though she doubted that he did not.

"Erm…no…" responded Harry, though it hurt him to say so. He really liked magic!

"Really? I think you do…I know I do," said Hermione, a hint of haughtiness to her tone.

"Y-you do?"

"Yeah, I've seen people in funny looking clothes do some weird things before, even disappear into thin air. Mummy doesn't believe me, but I'm sure of it."

Harry looked at Hermione incredulously. Had she really seen those things, or was it just a ploy to get him to admit there actually was magic. He did not know, and did not get to question her sincerity on the matter - even though, on some level, he knew she was not lying - because at that moment Remus appeared behind Hermione, a few books in hand, and a cheerful smile on his lips.

"Ready, Harry?"

The Potter heir looked at Moony, not sure whether to be relieved or sad that he had arrived, glanced at Hermione, who looked somewhat crestfallen that Harry had to be going already, then back at the Lupin.

"Yes…I'm ready," answered Harry, beginning to follow Moony, who had turned and begun back down the aisle at the young boy's affirmative reply.

"Will I see you later, Harry?" called Hermione after him, a sliver of hope seeping into her voice. Harry turned back for a moment, thought about it, then nodded.

"I think so. Do you live around here?"

"Not too far away."

"Okay, maybe later then. Here or maybe at the park. I could bring my friend Ron, I think you'd like him," grinned Harry.

"Alright," Hermione smiled, she did not have that many friends. Not many people liked to be around know-it-alls and what not. But Harry did not seem like that kind of boy. Something Hermione did assure herself, though, was that Harry had something to hide, and she was going to find out what it was.

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"Make a new friend, Harry?" inquired Remus conversationally as they were paying for their books. Harry looked as though he had not thought about that, and smiled slightly.

"…I think so. She loves to read, though."

"That's always good."

"But I mean she really loves to read…"

"And you don't?"

"Well…I like to read. She loves to read, I can tell. You should hear her just talk about the bookstore."

Remus chuckled as they exited the bookstore, into the now dark evening, three-quarter moon shinning brilliantly, stars glistening, re-crossed the parking lot and started on their way home.

"Moony… Do you think my Mummy and Daddy are happy with me…?" Harry asked ten minutes later, interrupting their tranquil silence, the bag with his new book, in hand.

"What do you mean? Of course they're happy with you," replied Remus, stopping and turning to Harry, thrown off by such an abrupt question. "Why wouldn't they be?"

"You don't think…you don't think they think it was…my fault?"

Understanding dawned in Remus's eyes as he crouched to Harry's level.

Has this been tormenting him for a while now?

"No, Harry, no they don't think that. They could never think that. What happened that night was in no way your fault. Do you understand that? Nothing you did caused what happened, and they would never blame you for it. …They loved you dearly."

Harry smiled slightly, eyes shinning, and looked as though an invisible weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Remus smiled softly back, and ruffled Harry's raven-black hair affectionately.

"You alright?"

"Yeah…Thanks, Moony."

It was in this moment, as Remus had just opened his mouth to reply, that Harry got a feeling that he had not experienced in quite some time. But he discerned it for what it was in a heartbeat; he would never have forgotten that all too familiar feeling, that sense of warning, but before he could alert his Guardian of it...before he could do anything at all, there was a flash, and young Harry James Potter's world went dark….

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A/N: Hehe, back to the evil cliffies I've fallen. They draw me in like a moth to the flame. –Grins- Now remember, no assassination attempts, because then you wouldn't have me to write the next chapter of this story. –Smiles Sweetly- I hope you all liked the chapter, though, and if you would, review and tell me what you thought. All your opinions are valued and appreciated. I was somewhat surprised by how many of you actually replied to my question in the last chapter about what Elemental you would be, haha. So, to fulfill my own curiosity, I'm going to ask you a new question. –Grins-

Who's your favorite HP Character? It can be anyone mentioned in the books, but it can only be one person. I know that can sometimes be hard, picking between your top two, but that is how it must be.

I'll try and not take 'too' long in posting the next chapter, but remember, reviews are great motivators. –Grins-

Until next time…

-Chloe

A.K.A – Japanime1