A WIZARD IN STARS HOLLOW

CHAPTER 2: WHEN HARRY PROPOSED AN IDEA

The first week of Harry's stay in Stars Hollow was very good. He got to hang out with Rory more as well as Lorelai and even found himself a part-time job at Luke's Diner. Luke was willing to train him in serving customers and even promised Harry some good pay. Harry took the offer and Luke even let him sit with Rory and Lorelai when they came in for their morning coffee.

"How do you like working here?" Lorelai asked Harry when he sat down with them.

"It's good." Harry said sipping his coffee. "I never really had a job back home except for some tutoring in school. Basically, I was like a secondary teacher." He laughed at the idea of him teaching back at Hogwarts as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. "During my fifth year there, I had to meet with one of my teachers for career advice and I chose to be a special police detective of sorts."

"Like an undercover cop?" Rory asked with interest.

"More like a special cases detective like catching crime bosses and stuff." Harry explained. "There's this one guy at home that gathered up a lot of followers over fourteen years and, though everyone thought him to be dead, he resurfaced and gained more power and now is practically waging war against everyone."

"Oh, damn!" Lorelai said. "So, that's why you came out here?" Harry shrugged. "Is this man after you?" Harry sighed and nodded. "Oh, crap. Harry, what if he comes here?"

"He won't." Harry promised. "Not if he doesn't know where I am. Nobody knows where I've traveled to, so he won't find out. None of his followers know about this, either."

"That's good." Rory said. "I'd rather not be in danger, if you don't mind." She patted his arm with her hand and he felt a tingle in his spine at her touch. "Well, I have to get to school. I'll see you later." She stood up and absentmindedly kissed him on the cheek before heading out the door.

There was silence at the table for a while until Lorelai smiled and said teasingly, "I think she likes you."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think that." Harry said with a grin. "Honestly, I like her, too. She reminds me of my friend Hermione back home. Always studying and reading all the time. She's helped me a lot over the years and I always thanked her for it." He fell silent for a few moments before asking, "I noticed Rory's been kind of moody, lately. What's up with her?"

Lorelai sighed and said, "She wants to go to this private school called Chilton. It's in Hartford near my mom's place and she's worried we won't have enough money to pay the tuition because it's so expensive. My mom and Dad are very rich and could pay for it, but my mom always has a catch to it."

"Right." Harry said. "If you want, I can pay for some of it and your parents can pay for the rest of it. I have enough to pay for the room, still, and I don't mind helping."

"Oh, Harry, that's sweet," said Lorelai, "but I don't think that's a good idea. Rory and I are very independant people and..."

"Listen, Miss Gilmore," said Harry calmly but firmly, "if Rory wants to go to Chilton, then I will damn well make sure she gets to go." Lorelai was surprised but nodded and asked if he would go with her and Rory to her parents to talk about the idea. "If that's what it takes to pay for Rory's tuition, then, yes."

"Great. I'll pick you up at six for dinner at my parents." Lorelai said and walked aweay. "Thanks for the help, by the way." Harry gave her a smile and went back behind the counter to work as several customers walked in.

Harry rode in Lorelai's vehicle to Hartford and came up to a large house. When they got inside, Harry met Emily and Richard Gilmore, Lorelai's parents. "Hello," he said politely. It's nice to meet you both. I'm Harry Potter."

"Ah, yes," said Emily in a rather snobbish tone, "Lorelai told me you were coming. She said you have a proposition for us."

"I do." Harry said in a business-like tone. "I'm sure you know that Rory wants to attend Chilton this coming school year and the tuition is pretty expensive." Emily nodded. "I was thinking that I could pay some of it and you could pay the rest."

"That is a lot of money, Mr. Potter," said Richard, "but if you want to do that, then we can probably work something out."

Emily looked appalled at her husband's sudden agreement to the proposition. "Richard, we don't even know this young man! How can we...?" She took a deep breath and said, "Look, Harry, we thank you for your generosity, but we can't accept your proposition."

"But, Emily," Richard said, "if you think about it, it will save us a lot of money and I know how you like to save our money as much as you can."

This shut the older woman up. "Fine!" she snapped. "Harry, we accept your proposal. How will you be paying for your portion of the tuition?"

"Well, I was thinking I'd open a bank account and write a check." Harry said. He was also planning on applying for the same school to protect Rory in case Voldemort or his Death Eaters were to come calling. "How hard is it to get into Chilton?"

"Very difficult," said Rory. "It took me months to get in but, with Grandma and Grandpa helping, I was able to get in easily. Just letting you know, though, it's a pretty hard school, so you'll need to study very hard and..."

"We'll help you." Richard said automatically. "Harry, if you want to attend Chilton, I can put in a good word with the principal. All you need to do is keep your grades up."

"And," Emily added, "since you are helping with Rory's tuition, I invite all three of you to attend dinner on Friday evenings."

"Mother!" Lorelai exclaimed. Emily didn't look phased by her daughter's exclamation at all. Lorelai calmed down and asked more calmly, "Why do we need to come here on Friday evenings?"

"Why, so we can get updates on Harry and Rory, of course." Emily said coolly. "We would like to know how they are doing in school every week. It will be fun." Harry agreed to her terms and, after another cup of tea, the three left the house.

"I can't believe her!" Lorelai said angrily as they got in the vehicle to head back to Stars Hollow. "How can she just throw you into the dinner thing like that, Harry? She had no right!"

"It's okay, Miss Gilmore," said Harry making the young woman roll her eyes at what he called her. "I don't mind going to dinner every Friday night. Besides," he patted his stomach, "I could use a little more weight." Rory laughed at his joke and even Lorelai couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, Mom?" Rory said as they drove through Stars Hollow. "Can Harry spend the night? It's getting late and I don't think he'll want to wait for the elevator at the inn."

Lorelai thought aobut it for a minute. "Yeah, you're right. Harry, would you mind spending the night?"

"No, of course not." Harry said. The only place he had ever spent a night or more at was the Burrow and Grimmauld Place during his time at Hogwarts. "I didn't get much time to spend the night at friends' houses lately, so that will be fun."

"Yeah!" Rory said happily. "We can hang out and eat some cold pizza if you'd like."

"Sounds good to me." Harry said laughing. "I am a little hungry." He blushed as his stomach rumbled loudly making Rory giggle. "Okay...I'm a lot hungrier than I thought I was." Lorelai pulled up to the driveway and the three got out and went into the Gilmore house. Harry liked how small it was. Lorelai immediately went into the kitchen and made some coffee. "Should you be drinking coffee this late at night?"

"Harry, I drink coffee almost twenty-four hours a day." Lorelai told him. She made a fresh pot of coffee and waited for it to brew before pouring a cup for herself and Rory. "Want some?" He nodded so she poured him a cup, too. She was about to take her cup when Harry stopped her. "What?"

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out a small crystal vial of a blue substance. "Drink this." Harry said handing it to Lorelai. She took it and looked at it questioningly. "It's something to calm you down. I know you're upset about your mother forcing you into having dinner every Friday evening."

"Thanks." Lorelai said and downed the whole thing. As soon as she drank it, Harry could see the effects take place. Her angry demeanor turned to calmness and she sat down in the living room without any outbursts. "Wow! That stuff works great."

"What stuff?" Rory asked.

"It's something I made to help calm people down." Harry explained. "Kind of a tonic."

"Well, it really helps," said Lorelai with a smile. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Harry said smiling back and looked at Rory. "I noticed you were a bit stressed out a couple of days ago and I was about to give you a vial of it. Would you like one?"

"No, thank you," said Rory. "I can handle my stress. I mean, most of my stress is due to studying, but I can handle it, but, I will let you know if I need one." Harry nodded and the teen girl went to the closet and brought back a pillow and blanket for him. "Here."

Harry took the pillow and blanket and made up his sleeping area while the women bade him goodnight. Harry laid down and slept comfortably, which was something he hadn't done in a while.