[A/N: (Indistinct noises) 'Thump…son of a! Who the hell? (Door bursts open) Sorry, sorry I'm late everyone. The gnomes down in Research took forever to get the information I needed. Well, here we are… Damn, has anyone seen…oh, there it is. Okay, thank you ladies and gentlemen for attending this meeting. This is the last summer before the start of the TriWizard Tournament! In this chapter we will be seeing more of Harry's usual hijinks and activities that any ordinary teenager would have during the mid-90s with some squealy, girly moments between Hermione and her friends. So if you'll direct your attention to the screen, I'll show you some points I'd like to cover…]
[A/N2: I'm not getting paid to endorse some of the places that Harry takes his friends. I just needed recognizable locations.]
Chapter 27: Prelude to the Games
Monday 27 June 1994, two days after returning home after the end of the school year
Dursley Residence, Little Whinging, Surrey
Harry was in the kitchen of his aunt's and uncle's house patiently stirring something in a large pot, a radio set to the local classic rock station was playing in the background. Purple ringlets of steam were wisping up from the contents inside and a light lavender scent was slowly filling the room. Dudley wandered in and took a deep breath, "Nice, what're you making?"
"A potion for the bathroom."
Dudley looked perplexed, "Really? That's allowed?"
Harry snorted, "That's the funny thing about magic, as long as it's not cast; the Ministry can't detect it. As such, I can brew whatever I want or use alternative forms of magic."
"Isn't potions considered magic?"
Harry shook his head, "No more than modern chemistry is." He glanced over where his cousin was standing and took note of his casual outfit, "What've you got planned for today?"
"Me and the guys were gonna catch the Tube to London and hit the arcades," Dudley replied as he pulled a box of cereal out of the pantry, "You?"
Harry waved his hand at the pot, "More brewing then I'm gonna tackle my summer reading for a while. I want to get most of it done before tomorrow."
Dudley grunted as he took a handful of dry cereal and stuffed in his mouth, "Whaf happe' t'mrrow?"
Harry grimaced at Dudley's actions, "Sheesh, you eat almost as bad as Ron Weasley. For your information, Neville and a couple of my friends were going to head out into town too. We mundane-raised are going to show the magically-raised what they've been missing being isolated from the rest of the world."
Dudley shoved another handful of cereal into his mouth and put on a snooty attitude at his cousin's disgust of his eating habits then took the box with him into the living room.
Petunia came storming into the kitchen fifteen minutes later carrying the box with Dudley trailing after her, "You eat at the table like a normal human being or you don't eat at all, Dudley Dursley." She huffed at her son who sat down with a sullen look on his face. She dropped a bowl, the carton of milk and a spoon on the table then turned to where Harry was still working with a smug grin on his face.
"What are you making this time?" she asked, leaning over to peer inside the pot.
"Scented bath soaps."
Petunia's eyes lit up, "Oooh, nice!" She noticed the molds lying on the counter, "Just ordinary bars?"
Harry shrugged indifferently, "If they're going to be used, why make them into shapes that break down easily?"
"You gonna give some to your girlfriend, Harry?" Dudley mock-cooed at him while batting his eyes.
Harry returned the sarcasm, "Unless you'd like some? Treat your friends to a lavender scented Dudley? I wonder how'd they react to that. You are named after a flower, you know." Dudley threw a Cheerio at him in retaliation.
"Boys!" Petunia admonished the pair, "If you're going to make a mess, take it out back." The phone rang so she headed off to get it then returned a moment later, "Harry, it's for you." Harry took the receiver and crooked it between his ear and shoulder, "This is Harry."
"Harry! I'm glad this thing works. It's Neville."
"I noticed. Congratulations on figuring out how a telephone works. Where'd you find one?"
"I'm down at Professor Lupin's shop in London right now. He taught me how to use this thing. Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out with me today? Gran's got some sort of Ministry thing going on and home is a bit too quiet for me."
Harry glanced up at his aunt who'd been listening in. She nodded her acceptance so he relayed that to Neville, "I can do that. I've got a couple of things to finish up here but I can be down at Uncle Moony's shop by one."
"Who's Uncle Moony?" Indistinct noises were heard through the connection, "Oh, he just informed me of what that meant. Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you when you get here. Bye!"
Harry quickly finished the soap-making project he'd been working on and got cleaned and changed. Petunia offered to drive both boys to the station and so all three loaded up in the car and headed out.
The Marauder's Puzzle Den, Charing Cross Road next to the Leaky Cauldron
Harry entered the shop and was immediately tackled by Padfoot who glomped onto his godson with a big smile on his face, "Prongslet! It's so good to see you again!"
"Ooof, get off me Padfoot!" Harry huffed and straightened his clothes, "How old did you say you were again? Two?" Sirius 'maturely' stuck his tongue out at the teen and waved him into the shop.
"Welcome to 'The Marauder's Puzzle Den,' Harry. We've got all the sorts of games, puzzles and brainteasers that any self-respecting nerd could ever hope to have."
Remus appeared out of the backroom, "Seriously, Sirius? This is your idea of a welcome, you plonker?" Sirius just grinned unrepentedly.
Harry laughed, "I don't mind being called a nerd, it's better than some of the other adjectives used to describe people of his caliber." He finished with an imperious look on his face which broke down into mirth at the wounded act Sirius was putting on, "So where's Neville?"
"I'm here," came Neville's voice from somewhere near the back wall. Further investigation found the teen in question closely examining a table that had a half-finished jigsaw puzzle lying on it. He looked up and smiled, "Hi, Harry. Thanks for coming; I was going stir-crazy at home."
Harry waved him off, "No problem, I was just doing some minor brewing at home. Don't you normally work for hours on end in your family's greenhouses?"
Neville shrugged as he fitted another piece into the puzzle, "It was too quiet and our elves had already done the bulk of the work. I guess I just got used to the hustle and bustle of the castle to be left alone anymore." He glanced around at the shop, "Isn't this place great or what?"
Harry agreed with him, "It is and from what I remember, it's got its own secret entrance to Diagon Alley."
"That we do, Harry," Remus commented as he appeared around the corner, a stack of brainteaser puzzles in his hands. He began stocking the shelves, "We thought it'd be a nice alternative to the muggle parents who didn't want to brave the Leaky."
"What's wrong with the Leaky?" Neville wanted to know.
"Look at it from an outsider's view. Imagine you're from another country and your first impression of what the magical world is like is what you see in the pub?"
Neville thought for a moment before he grimaced, "Right. Who'd want to go through something so grimy and dark?"
"Exactly. We offer a modern entrance to the modern parents. Plus, it's good for business…"He gestured with his chin at the number of couples who were checking out the merchandise.
"Ex, excuse me? Are you Harry Potter?" A small squeak of a voice from an equally small girl appeared next to Harry. Her eyes were wide with recognition and she was blushing madly.
Harry smiled pleasantly as he knelt down to her level, "I am and who are you?"
"Natalie McDonald. I'm going to be starting at Hogwarts this year. I just found out about you from the owner of Slug and Jigger's."
Harry was a bit surprised, "Why would he've mentioned me?"
She shyly held up her shopping bag nervously, "Um…He, he told me you were the one who invented a whole new way of making potions and other wondrous things during your time there."
Neville was smirking at Harry and nudging his shoulder. Harry half-heartedly pushed his friend's hand off of him, "Are you interested in making potions too?" She nodded rapidly, her hair bouncing from the movement.
"Well, there's a book I co-wrote with my professor called, 'Potions for the Puzzled' that covers a lot of little tips and tricks to consistently make the best brew. It won't be out until later this summer, I'm afraid but if you want, I can autograph it for you when we get to school?" Natalie looked like she was ready to faint so she just mutely nodded and beamed at him before floating off to rejoin her parents.
Sirius appeared and clapped Harry on the shoulder, "You're a natural salesman, Prongslet. That was beautiful." He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye. Harry rolled his before he herded Neville into the Alley.
Gringott's Bank
"Hey, Nev, before we go any further; I wanna stop in at the bank and grab some money and speak with my account manager."
"Fine by me, let's go."
"So how did you convince your Gran to let you go anywhere by yourself? Isn't she rather overprotective?"
Neville grunted somewhat amusedly, "She is and I informed her that I would be meeting you near the Leaky. That the Den is next door to the Leaky was entirely coincidental…and I recognized Professor Lupin heading inside and we got to talking."
Both teens headed up the steps leading to the bank, Harry bowed his head politely to the Goblin guards who returned the courtesy.
"Etiquette lessons on Goblin culture," Harry explained to Neville's silent questioning tilt of his head, "Part of the language class."
When he was called up, Harry already had his key out and ready," Greetings Teller Bonestrike. I would like to access my vault then speak with my account manager at his earliest convenience."
"Do you have an appointment with him?" growled the teller.
Harry smirked lightly, "No, I don't. I wanted to surprise him with a gift."
The teller's eyes narrowed, "A gift?"
Harry glanced around to make sure no one else was listening in too closely, "batlh jIcheghtaHvIS, jIHeghchugh jIHegh."
The teller's jaw nearly hit the desk as his eyes bugged out, "hol Dajatlh'a'?"
Harry waggled his hand, "ghu'vammo' qaSpu'. vIleghpu'."
Switching back to English, "Still, your command of our language is impressive for a human and one as young as you are. I'll let him know that you wish to speak with him but won't say why."
After two harrowing cart rides into the caverns below the bank to retrieve some gold, one going and one coming back; both Harry and Neville were quite ready to ride a bench and recover their equilibriums. But first, Harry had one more stop to make. Their escort led the slightly wobbly pair through a couple of hallways before knocking on Daggerclaw's door.
"Ah, Mr. Potter; what can I do for you today?"
Harry had a tiny smirk on his face as he glanced in Neville's direction, "maj po Daggerclaw. jIvoqtaH'a' ghu'vetlh vIlo'taH'a' je?"
There was a thump from Daggerclaw as he fell out of his seat and onto the floor in shock. He quickly recovered and stared at Harry in open-mouthed surprise, "hol Dajatlh'a'?"
Harry grinned, only slightly showing his teeth, "ghu'vammo' qaSpu'. vIleghpu'. loDnal Dalegh'a' neHtaHghach ghopDu' vIlegh 'e' DaHar'a'?"
Daggerclaw burst out laughing, "It is! Wow, I'm impressed, Mr. Potter. Normally humans find our language to be extraordinarily difficult to learn."
Now Harry blushed at the praise, "Last year, I decided to take a Goblin language class for one of my electives."
Daggerclaw was happy to hear that, "What was the other one?"
"Cursebreaking."
"Are you planning on working for Gringott's?"
Harry shrugged, "I really hadn't thought about it. I'll admit that the idea of becoming a cursebreaker and traveling the world does seem glamourous but at the same time, it's probably dangerous and dirty work. I'd much prefer just staying in a nice, cozy laboratory brewing up potions."
Daggerclaw gestured with his hands, "You could do both, you know? Many a times, we've had to send out a full potion brewing team out to cover the breaker crews as they work their way past traps and whatnot."
Harry looked interested now, "Plus, I'm a Parselmouth so I'd imagine that'd be helpful too."
Daggerclaw looked intrigued, "Just snakes or can you speak with dragons too?"
"There's a difference?"
"It's a dialect as I've been told. Something akin to someone from Britain versus an English speaker from Australia. We have a couple of dragons here if you wanted to test it out, if you're not too busy?"
Neville nudged him, "Do it. I didn't really have anything planned for today."
The trio took another cart ride down into the caverns but this time the ride was practically sedate.
"Is there a reason why the public carts are so much faster and nauseating?"
Daggerclaw laughed, "Because we can and it's fun to see who can get the clients to be sick the fastest. I'm told there's a betting pool for the experience." Both teens chuckled along with the Goblin.
They arrived at the bank's dragon pens and were assaulted by the noise of roaring and disgruntled dragons as they were either being moved or if one of the others tried to muscle their way past their enclosures.
"Anything yet, Mr. Potter?"
Harry shook his head, "Just a cacophony of noise of everyone talking and yelling at once. /"Oi! Can anyone understand me?"/
The whole cavern went dead silent.
Neville laughed nervously, "I'd say that proves it, Harry."
/"Do my ears deceive me? A Dragon-Speaker?"/
/"I heard stories about such people. I'd never thought I'd live to see the day when I got to meet one!"/
/"Runty looking thing, I thought they'd be taller and stronger?"/
Harry stepped up to a raised platform, /"Well, for your information I'm still a juvenile and my strength is on par for someone my age. It's a pleasure to meet everyone here today. I hope that you're all being treated well enough?"/
This launched the dragons into roaring their displeasure and excitement at finally being able to air their grievances about their lot in life while Harry was simultaneously running translations to the dragon handlers.
After finishing with the dragons and their handlers wishing for his return whenever he felt like it, Harry and Neville stepped out of the bank's doors and took in the fresh air, "So where to next, Nev? Who do you want to terrorize?" Neville laughed at his friend's haughtiness.
"I thought we'd just hang out. I'm not sure if there's really anything to do like we'd normally get up to back at school."
Harry glanced around at the streets branching off from Diagon, "Well, you wanna go check out Knockturn Alley?"
Neville stared back mouth agape, "You're crazy, no way. Besides, it's too dangerous. That's where all the Dark Arts stuff is located."
Harry held his hands up, "Whoa, Nev, I was just kidding. Anyways, it's not that bad during the daytime; Professor Snape told me that the really dangerous elements only come out at night. Why don't we check out some of the other streets?"
The pair wandered up and down the other alleys and side streets, poking their noses into the various shops and stalls. There was so much more than what Harry had ever seen even from his previous ventures with his aunt and uncle. The two stopped into Sugarplum's Sweet Shop to see what the latest in confections was in stock. Harry commented that he couldn't wait to show Neville what the mundane world had to offer. "The sweets there don't have any special effects like magical candy but there's still a huge selection."
All told, the two stayed within the confines of the magical shopping district. Neville could tell that Harry was itching to show off muggle London, "You're practically bursting with anticipation. Anything you want to share now?"
Harry had a wicked smile on his face, "No spoilers, Nev but it'll blow your socks off."
The next day, Harry was back at The Marauder's Puzzle Den but this time it was to meet up with the rest of his friends. Harry was perusing through a stack of model cars when he heard Neville and Ernie MacMillian arrive. Ernie was standing in the doorway utterly entranced at the contents of the shop and stood there wide-eyed as he slowly turned, taking it all in. Next to arrive was Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan; Seamus was a half-blood so the concept of a game and puzzle shop wasn't too new to him and Dean was more into art than puzzles.
"Wow, it's a shame that we don't have a shop like this in Hogsmeade," Seamus wistfully commented to the knowing smirk growing on Remus' face as he helped another customer.
They all congregated around Harry as he set the itinerary for the day, "I thought we'd hit the arcade first then go have lunch somewhere. Did you remember to get some mundane money?" The magically-raised nodded and patted their wallets.
Deciding to walk as it would give Neville and Ernie time to acclimate to the busy coming and goings of the muggles around them, the group of teens arrived at the Las Vegas Arcade Soho. Once again, Ernie slowed to a halt and stared in open-mouthed wonder but this time he wasn't alone, all of them were. Harry led them over to the counter where they exchanged some money for coins then wandered up and down the aisles. The blaring cacophony of competing sounds and music coming from the consoles coupled with the flashing lights was almost overwhelming. Ernie clapped his hand on Harry's shoulder, "It's official, the magical world is utterly boring!"
Harry grinned, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
After getting a brief explanation of how the games worked and where to feed in the money, the teens spread out to find something that looked entertaining. Neville was examining one of the coin push machines with a strange look on his face. "Nev?" He glanced up to see Harry tilting his head in a silent question. "You alright?"
"Just trying to understand why anyone would want to use nearly all their money for something with such a low return."
"Just one of life's mysteries, my man. Not something for our limited time. C'mon, I want to introduce you to air hockey." He slung his arm around his friend's shoulders and led him back into the cave of entertainment wonders. They passed Dean trouncing Ernie in a game of billiards while Seamus was driving against the computer on a racecar simulator.
When they finally had enough, Dean suggested they get lunch so they examined the map he'd brought along. Ernie was practically fizzing with excitement, his eyes wide and he was breathing sort of heavy, "I can sort of understand why the muggleborn have such a hard time getting used to the magical world. We have nothing like this; I think Quidditch is the only exciting thing we have. My mind is completely blown…"
Harry looked a bit worried, "Are you okay, Ern?"
Ernie waved him down, "Just a bit overwhelmed. I'll be okay though…"
"So? What's next?"
"I was thinking that we should have stick with the muggle theme that Harry's got," Seamus suggested. Harry shrugged, "It depends on how expensive you want to get. At the bottom end of the scale, we have McDonald's and it just goes up from there."
"What do they serve at this McDonald's?" Ernie asked.
"Burgers and chips, chicken nuggets, fizzy drinks." Judging from the look on their faces, that wasn't all that appealing. "Okay, you guys ever have pizza?"
Dean led the group up to the pizzeria just up the street. Upon entering, another of their senses was assaulted but this time instead of a hearing melting headache inducement; this one assaulted their noses and caused their stomachs to growl.
"Ah, pizza. One of life's most perfect foods! Endlessly modifiable, the only limitation is what your stomach can handle," Dean waxed eloquently as he started examining the menu.
When they finally decided to share a pie between the four of them, Seamus led them over to the counter where they could watch it being made. As they were eating, Ernie wondered what was next on their trip.
"Well, I was thinking that we could head to all of the usual touristy sites like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, maybe watch the Changing of the Guards ceremony or we could take the Tube to the Tower of London. It depends on whether or not you want to learn something or just want to be entertained like the arcade," Harry commented as he finished chewing his bite of pizza.
While the boys were traipsing all over London in search of the next best entertaining thing since Quidditch was invented (and loving every minute of it), Hermione was in the middle of her own day out with some of her girlfriends. Their destination probably wouldn't be nearly as continuously loud as the arcade was but their squealing and excited chattering more than made up for it. First up on their agenda was to head to Phonica Records to check out their selection of vintage vinyl records. When asked by her mother why there, Hermione replied that many magical families had wind-up record players or ones that ran on magic so it made sense to check out those shops as opposed to the ultra modern ones. "Besides, we're not sure how well CD players work in a magic heavy environment. I guess we could stop by HMV on the way just to see what's available."
Emma smiled warmly as her excited teenage daughter loaded the other girls up into the car. Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood were practically plastered up against the windows and giddily pointing out every interesting sight along their route while Padma was chatting with Emma about the adult's job as a dental surgeon. Pansy was eagerly listening to Hermione's explanation of what she had planned for them.
Ministry for Magic, Department of International Magical Cooperation, Bartemius Crouch's office
Scowling at the sight of the letter an owl had just dropped off on his desk; Director Crouch read the missive from the headmistress at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic apologizing that she and her hopefuls wouldn't be able to attend the Tri-Wizard Tournament as planned due to a rather nasty outbreak of dragonpox. He unceremoniously dropped it onto the desk where it came to a rest next to the other letter from Durmstrang with whom were also pulling out because of political infighting going on.
Sighing deeply and wondering if maybe this would be just the thing to cancel the whole damn thing, he contacted Minerva McGonagall via the Floo.
"Barty? Is there something wrong?"
"Possibly. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons have pulled out from attending the Tournament. Beauxbatons came down with dragonpox while Durmstrang is fighting amongst itself."
Minerva's eyes popped wide, "Oh, dear! What back-up plans does the ministry have for situations like this?"
Barty ran his hands over his face, "We do have a listing of other schools but I'm wondering if we should just cancel the whole idea. I know that you're almost done with construction but the schools…"
"What are the options?" she interrupted.
Barty picked up the directory, "Well, in terms of those who could potentially get here the fastest; I would recommend Castelobruxo and Mahoutokoro. Both have relatively small student populations as compared to the Big Three. When we contacted them, both headmasters promised that they could be ready to move within a month."
Minerva nodded thoughtfully, "Then I'm glad that this was brought to our attention so soon. Well, regardless of who comes, we'll be happy to host them. As long as there's no special accommodations needed like a student of theirs is a vampire or some such thing, there shouldn't be a problem."
Barty bowed his head, "Then I'll send word along with the informational packet you and your staff worked up to them as soon as possible. Hopefully, it'll reach them in time."
Minerva scratched her cheek, "Why not send it via elf delivery?"
Barty paused as he thought about that, "Interesting idea, Minerva…Thank you."
After Minerva disconnected from Barty, she headed off to Albus' office to inform him of the change of plans. Predictably, he was in a snit when he learned that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons wouldn't be attending.
"They should be just forced to attend. It wouldn't be the Tri-Wizard Tournament without those two schools," he grumped.
Minerva leveled a hard glare at him, "So you would have potentially contagious students wandering around the castle and its grounds just because it's 'traditional?'"
Albus made some sort of under his breath muttering about how 'that's how things have always been done.'
Ginny Weasley was practically convinced that she must be dreaming. They had stopped at a salon to get their hair and nails done muggle-style, though Ginny really didn't know if there was a difference. The stylist used normal scissors and a comb so it wasn't like she had anything to compare the experience with. Hermione's mother was flipping through a look-book when she sat down next to the older woman.
"You look stressed, is everything okay?"
"Just a bit overwhelming. Normally, my mum would cut my hair when it grew too long but she'd never do more than trim it so it stopped below my shoulders and definitely wouldn't have tried to style it."
"Have you decided on a style yet?"
Ginny shrugged a shoulder, "I was thinking of the sort of waves that Hermione gets sometimes." Both females glanced over to where the girl in question was examining some of the conditioner bottles.
"I don't think I've ever seen her hair wavy before. Bushy, yes but never wavy. Does that happen at lot at school?"
Ginny giggled, "If she's been riled up by the boys, her hair gets really bushy. The other girls use her hair as an indicator of her mood." Emma cracked up laughing.
"So I hear that your school is going to be holding a Yule Ball. Have you got your dress all picked out?"
Ginny morosely shook her head, "I have no idea if I'm going to be able to go. I heard through the rumor mill that the students who get to go have to be fourth year and up."
"Actually," both looked over to where Pansy was leaning over, "Everyone will be able to attend just not on the same day. There will be three dances spread out over the year; each one will be geared for their age brackets."
"Really?"
Pansy nodded her head, "Yup. There'll be a dance for first and second years, one for third and fourths and a third for the fifth to seventh years. I overheard my Head of House talking to one of the other professors."
Emma tapped Ginny on the knee, "Well, that settles it. We'll stop by in a clothing shop to let you get some ideas. I would recommend that you wait until you're closer to the start of school so it doesn't get damaged or anything unless you can contact your parents to come down and meet us at the shop?"
Ginny's eyes grew wide, "I should contact my mum. If dad came out here, we'd lose him at the first 'interesting' thing on the street. Dad's nuts for muggle stuff."
Emma nodded sagely, "My husband is the same way with golfing equipment. Hermione?"
Her daughter came over, "Yes, mum?"
"Would you happen to have a magical way to contact Ginny's mum? We just found out that there'll be age appropriate dances throughout the year, the Yule Ball specifically and I thought it'd be a good idea to have Mrs. Weasley come out to help her daughter pick out a dress and hold onto it until the dance," Emma spoke quietly to her daughter.
Hermione frowned as she thought about it before brightening up, "I just might be able to do something, wait here." She disappeared around the corner for a few moments before returning with a big grin on her face, "Yup, I called for one of Harry's elves and Jelly appeared. She's offered to transport Mrs. Weasley to wherever we end up then back home again."
Emma thanked her daughter as Ginny squealed and bounced up and down in excitement, "Thank you, Hermione!" Then she stage-whispered, "Thank you, Jelly!"
Their next stop after the hair and nail salon was Harrods. Hermione had an indecipherable look on her face as she explained the history of the shop yet it was more than anything Ginny had been building up in her mind as she entered the lobby. There was nothing in the young girl's life that could've prepared her for the wondrous 'Aladdin's Cave of Treasures' that made up the seven floors of commercial heaven. 'This Harrod's shop is almost as big as all of Diagon Alley combined!' Everything that could be imagined (and a huge range of things that couldn't) was on sale. Everything from a child's hairclip all the way up to full rooms and beyond were on display. They didn't buy anything simply because they did't have the money to do so but it was still fun to browse through the aisles and racks of clothes. Ginny shyly glanced down at her own outfit and wondered once again what it would've been like if her parents were wealthy.
Luna appeared a moment later and gave her best friend a comforting hug before dragging the redheaded girl to the electronics section to see the positively huge television sets that Hermione had been gushing about.
Pansy too, was having her own crisis that was down to a lack of proper funding too. This place practically demanded that she return armed with more money and her mother along for the experience. 'I should bring Daphne and Tracy too. Oh, Millie would practically flip if she saw all this!'
After consulting her mother and checking to see if the other girls had any seafood allergies (there weren't any), Hermione suggested they try something different than the 'usual' British fare and go for sushi. Over spicy tuna rolls and tempura, the girls chatted about what sort of things they were looking forward at the beginning of next year.
"I'm looking forward to starting my electives," Ginny replied after she sampled the salmon nigiri, clumsily holding it with her chopsticks.
"What are you going to be taking?" Emma asked her.
"Healing and Muggle Studies. After my 'experience' during my first year, I want to get into Mind Healing. I'm hoping that these two classes will be the right direction I should start at."
"Mind Healing sounds like it'd be similar to psychology. Do you know what's involved with the subject?"
Ginny shrugged, "I'm not sure. I spoke with Madam Pomfrey and she said that regardless of where I end up, I have to take the basic Healing course so I guess I'll decide what to do later."
"Okay, and why Muggle Studies?"
Ginny paused as she thought, "I… I think they might have something similar and I was told that this class would introduce me to your world. Even if it's not, I could always drop it for something else."
"That should be fun then. What about you, Luna? What electives are you taking?"
"I'm going to be taking Care of Magical Creatures and Music with a focus on Guitar."
"Are these two classes that could lead to a rewarding career?"
Luna shook her head, "No, they'd just be something fun to take. My daddy already has a job for me with his magazine publishing company. When he retires, I'll take over and continue the search for the undiscovered."
The girls ended up at a nice prom dress boutique near Portman Square like a chattering teenage tsunami and began browsing through the racks. Emma had Hermione call Jelly to go retrieve Mrs. Weasley so there wouldn't be any confusion (or heartbreak) later on. Molly Weasley entered a few minutes later with her own wide-eyed and apprehensive expression that had mirrored her daughter's.
"Hello, you must be Ginny's mum. I'm Emma Granger," she held out her hand and greeted the Weasley Matriarch who just dumbly nodded her head. "I know, it's a bit much to take in all at once but don't worry, I'll be here every step of the way and frankly, it'll be nice to have another adult to talk to."
30 June 1994 Dursley Residence, morning
"Harry?" the teen looked up at the sound of his name and saw his uncle standing before him. "Any plans for today?"
"I can't think of any. Why?"
Vernon shrugged, "I've got some free time this weekend if you wanted to contact that elf of yours so we could perhaps see that manor your family has. I remember you mentioning you wanted to see it this summer."
Harry perked up at that, "Sure, let me just square it with Goofy." Said elf appeared a second later with a smirk on his face. "You were listening in?"
Goofy shook his head, "Master Harry said my name and Goofy happened to be in between tasks."
Harry cocked his head nonplussed, "Well alright then. Goofy, my aunt, uncle, my cousin and I would like to visit the manor this weekend. Would that be okay with you?"
"Whenever Master Harry is ready, the Potter elves will be there to assist."
Vernon commented that a ten am pickup would be best.
July
That first Saturday of July saw the first visitors to Potter Manor in recent history. All the humans were agog with wonder at the sight of the grand residence that had been the seat of Potter power for centuries. Goofy was explaining the history of the structure as they walked up the driveway, "The manor before you was built during the 1300s after the wedding of Richard Potter to Adeline Bones. It has been added to or modified over the centuries to include updated lighting, heating and other modern conveniences."
"Does electricity work inside?" Dudley asked Goofy who nodded.
"Yes, muggle power does work pretty much anywhere on the property. The Potter heads were very progressive compared to many others on their council. Master Harry's grandfather spoke often of 'why limit yourself to the narrow-mindedness of your peers?'"
Once inside, Harry was required to enter in their names into the Ward ledger book and to magically lay claim to the residence itself before they could continue. One room in particular caught their eye; Petunia nearly fainted when she spotted her sister, Lily, waving excitedly at her. The room was covered in floor to ceiling paintings, each one a life-like rendition of the Potter who lived there.
"Lily?"
Lily waggled her hand, "Sort of. I'm the painted portrait of the sister you once knew. I also have her memories up to a week before her death." She turned to face Harry, "Oh, my…Harry. James!"
James Potter sauntered up, "What's up, Lils?" That's when he spotted Harry, "Prongslet?" He reached out and physically grabbed Harry by the shoulders, "Oh, my son!"
The living were flabbergasted at James' action, "H, how?"
Lily chuckled, "It's the magic of the room. I can't really explain it but we're actually able to leave our frames and physically interact with everyone in the room. I've not tried to leave here but a couple of the older Potters have claimed they could."
Petunia crept forward and drew Lily in for a hug before breaking down and bawling her eyes out, "I can't believe it! Oh, my sister, I'm so sorry for the way I treated you before!"
As it turned out, the portraits were able to leave the rooms and wander throughout the manor as long as they didn't try to leave the building. It made for an exciting experience for Harry and the Dursleys, one that Harry commented Hermione would probably flip over when she found out. James teased him about this, "Is this Hermione your girlfriend, Harry?"
Harry had a smugly proud look on his face, "Yup. We've been together since our first train ride to Hogwarts. I officially asked her my second year and I've never been happier."
Dudley was glancing at the nameplates to all the portraits but the frames were either empty or there were people moving back and forth, "So which one is the oldest portrait here?"
"That would be me, lad. I am Ralston Potter." A distinguished gentleman in breeches and a tight-fitting doublet stepped into view. A jerkin was draped over a chair in the painting.
Harry perked up, "I've heard of you! You were a member of the Wizengamot from 1612 to 1652. He was a staunch advocate of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, in contrast to his more militant peers, who wished to declare war against Muggles." At the curious looks on his aunt's face, he explained that ever since the school got rid of Binns, History class had become a lot more interesting.
Ralston appeared curious, "This Binns? He was a teacher up at Hogwarts?" Harry nodded, "He was so boring that most everyone fell asleep during his lectures." Ralston rolled his eyes and snorted, "I knew many like that during my tenure in the Mot."
Harry was correct in his declaration that Hermione would nearly flip out when she learned of the Hall of Elders' existence. She peppered him with many questions about the layout, the enchantments and a whole host of other things he had no clue as to how to explain. Finally, he called for Goofy and asked the elf if there was a book in the Potter library that explained how the Hall worked and if Hermione could borrow it for a while. Goofy looked thoughtful for a moment before asking both to wait a moment then popped out. When he returned, he was carrying an ancient-looking book and set it down on the table. "This being the book that explains how to set up the Hall of Elders. Goofy is sorry that it not being in English."
Harry waved him down, "Don't worry about it, Goofy. I wouldn't expect it to be written so anyone could read it. You've done a wonderful job and I'll call you when she's done, okay?" Goofy agreed and popped out.
Hermione commented as she read that it seemed like that whichever one of Harry's ancestors came up with the concept, it must've been after witnessing the Room of Requirement came into being up at Hogwarts since there were so many similarities.
"Maybe they were created by the same person and the Hall of Elders was the first incarnation of it?"
Hermione looked slightly thoughtful but shook her head, "I doubt it. The RoR was created by Rowena Ravenclaw herself so unless she's related to you; I think your Hall is just a copy."
Harry made a noncommittal noise and went back to his own reading.
21 July 1994, The Marauder's Puzzle Den, London, late at night
The door bell tinkled lightly whenever someone entered or left the shop. It was just before closing time so Remus groaned internally at the last minute shopper. He rounded the corner and was taken aback at who'd just entered. Minerva McGonagall was glancing around, surprised and impressed by what she saw.
"Minerva? What brings you by?"
She turned back to face her part-time defense professor and smiled warmly, "Hello, Remus. My apologies for stopping by so late but I was hoping to catch you before you went home. I'm here to see if I could convince you to take another year to teach Defense at Hogwarts."
Remus snorted lightly, "I'd love to but as you can see, I already have a number of duties that require me to be here plus I thought there was some kind of Curse on the position." He moved behind the counter and started pulling out the ledger to begin closing up.
Minerva rested her hands upon the counter, "Actually, that curse has already been dealt with by the Unspeakables. I had a feeling you'd bring that up and quite frankly, it needed to be taken care already. Would you believe that it only took the cursebreaker an hour to dispel it?"
"Really?" Remus was intrigued despite himself.
"Hm-mmm. He said that it was a three-anchor curse and easy to find too. Something about it being tied to the the professor's contract, powered by the school's wardstone and triggered by a script engraved on that hanging dragon skeleton in the classroom or some such thing. You should've seen and heard the arguing Albus was giving to that poor cursebreaker. I finally had to stun him and stick him to his chair just so the breaker could get his job done." She smugly smirked at the memory, "Anyhow, I would much rather rehire you for the coming year than having to interview new people. As you know it's been getting tougher to find qualified candidates and whom better would it be than to have you be the first in over fifty years to teach two years in a row?"
Remus resignedly looked back at her hopeful face, "But…" he laced his fingers together and bowed his head, "Fine but the contract has to be the same as we had last year. Part time teaching during the week with limited office hours."
Minerva happily held out her hand, "Deal. Welcome back, professor."
It was nearing Harry's and Neville's birthdays and neither boy had any idea as to what they were going to do about it. Both were convinced that at the ripe old age of fourteen, they were too old to have extravagant parties though from the look that Hermione gave Harry when they met up a week after their respective days out, she'd been planning something…extravagant.
"Seriously, Hermione; I don't want lavish. I just want some friends to come hang out, share some food and dance to music. I'm not interested in a cake; I don't want to make a fuss." He wrapped her up in his arms and nuzzled their noses together.
"But fourteen is an important milestone, Harry."
Harry shrugged indifferently, "Not really. It's just an excuse to have a party. If you wanted to make a big deal of my fifteenth birthday, that…I think I can allow."
An eyebrow went up, "Why that birthday?"
"Nice round number, I guess. No reason, really…"
She rolled her eyes at his intransigence. "Fine," she huffed, "But come next year, you better not fight me on this." He kissed her by way of agreement.
August
Monday 22 August 1994 The Marauder's Puzzle Den, London
Fred and George Weasley were busily stocking and sweeping the sales floor, respectively while at the same time listening to the Quidditch World Cup being broadcast on the radio Sirius had set up on the counter. The shop was closed that day, ostensibly so they could run an inventory check but they spent more time chatting about the Cup and the two teams who'd made it thus far.
"It was heart-wrenching that England didn't make it to the play-offs. They got trounced by Transylvania by something like 390 to 10. Then Scotland lost to Luxembourgh and Wales lost to Uganda."
Sirius scowled, "I know. I lost seven hundred and fifty Galleons on the England-Transylvania match! Beautiful odds too, I had fifteen to one that England would get the Snitch first."
The Twins sympathized with him, "If we'd gone with Dad and the others, I'm sure we'd have gotten some betting in too."
Remus had a twinkle in his eye, "Oh? What sort of bets did you have in mind?"
George had an equal amount of twinkling, "Just between us? Nothing fancy or money involved?"
"Sure."
"Fred and I would wager that Ireland wins but Krum gets the Snitch."
Sirius dropped a box of children's animal puzzles on the counter, "You guys' are betting that Ireland wins? I'd take that bet, they're good."
Remus agreed, "But just for argument's sake, I'll bet the other way and that Bulgaria wins by twenty points and that Lynch gets plowed into the ground within the first ten minutes."
As they were listening (and still working), George commented to Fred that he was glad they were working in the shop as opposed to being there at the Cup and having to deal with their father's idea as to what muggle camping was supposed to be like. Fred replied that it might've been worse since their mum was planning on going too.
"Can you imagine? It would just like being at home with mum yelling at us for using magic when there's already so much magic being used by everyone else on top of whatever dad had planned. I'd rather spend the entire day cleaning out the loo than go through that."
At the end of the day, the results from the Cup were in and both Remus and Sirius along with the Twins had come out ahead in their respective bets. The Irish had won but Krum got the Snitch while Aiden Lynch had gotten plowed by Krum executing a flawless Wronski Feint ten minutes into the game.
Harry appeared not too long after the game ended and joined in on the conversation. While not an avid Quidditch aficionado like the Twins (or the rest of Magical Britain), he still enjoyed the odd argument every now and then about statistics.
"So besides wanting to visit your wonderful godfather, what brought you by?" Sirius preened then relented when Remus smacked him on the shoulder.
Harry laughed at their antics, "I had to stop in at Gringott's. Now that their dragon handlers know that I'm a Parselmouth, they've been begging me to come down and work out a sort of primer on the dragon language so they can try and be more efficient in the way things work down there."
"Been a tough job?"
Harry waggled his hand, "It's slow but progressing. Most of the time is spent trying to keep the younger dragons from butting in with jokes about the handlers or the elders moaning and groaning about their various aches and pains."
The Twins cracked up laughing, "Who'd've thought that dragons had such personalities? Our older brother Charlie would probably love to meet you."
Harry cocked his head, "Don't you also have another brother who's a cursebreaker for Gringott's too?" Fred nodded as George went in search for something.
"Yeah, Bill. He's the oldest and by far, the wisest of all the Weasley kids," Fred intoned sagely. A spark of mischief lit up his eyes, "You and Hermione ought to stop by this weekend. Both Bill and Charlie will be home and I'd bet a week's pay that both would absolutely love you two."
Harry grinned back, "Clear it with your parents first then I'll check with Hermione."
While Fred dashed off to the shop's backroom floo, Harry wandered around the shop. A customer glanced askance at him as if trying to place his features from somewhere but left him alone.
"Harry." He turned to where Fred was waving him over, "Good news. Mum has said it's alright if you and Hermione come over this weekend and promises that Ronnie will behave himself." Harry called Hermione on the shop's telephone and asked her if she wanted to join him at the Weasley's house that Saturday.
"That's fine by me. How am I getting there?"
"I'll have Jelly pick you up and bring you back, if you're alright with that?"
"Deal. I like Jelly. She's as sweet as her name."
"Yeah, she mentioned that two of you got along quite well when I last saw her at the manor."
Saturday 27 August 1994, The Burrow, Devon
With a barely audible pop, Goofy delivered Harry at the start of the walkway leading towards the Weasley house known as 'The Burrow.' Hermione arrived a moment later holding hands with Jelly a moment later. "Thank you, Jelly. It was a smooth ride as usual." Jelly beamed at her before disappearing.
"Hey." She turned and smiled warmly at her boyfriend.
The pair walked up the path hand in had and were greeted at the door by Molly who gave both teens a warm hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you again, Hermione. Ginny's been doing nothing but staring dreamily at that dress that she got."
Hermione smiled back, "I'm glad she found the right dress. That royal blue ombre strapless dress looked fabulous on her. I just hope she can find a proper date to the Yule Ball."
Molly waved her hand, "She's got plenty of time for that. So, you must be Harry. You look so much like your father, you know."
Harry beamed with pride, "Yes, ma'am; so I've been told, with my mother's eyes too."
Molly led them inside and pointed out where everything was. She yelled up the stairwell, "Fred! George! Your guests are here!" A slammed door and the sound of thundering feet on the stairs were heard a moment later.
"Harry! Hermione!" The twins yelled in stereo, "Welcome to our humble abode!"
The Burrow as it turned out was entirely magical, including its construction. It had started life as a stone paddock ages ago then built up over the years by Arthur and Molly as they began building their family. Whenever they had another child, they just added another room and floor. All of the furniture and decorations appeared to be either homemade or bought second-hand but everything was well-loved and cared for.
There was a long table in the kitchen and two adult male Weasleys sitting there with grins on their faces. George pointed them out, "The one with the long hair and dragon earring is Bill. He's the cursebreaker with Gringott's, the other one with all those scars and burns is Charlie. He works for the Romanian Dragon Reserve."
Bill, as they found out was the most laid-back of all the Weasley kids. Molly was heard every now and then from their kitchen muttering about how she'd love to stick him to a chair and give him a proper haircut and yank that earring out.
"Actually, Mrs. Weasley; long hair is essential for working as a cursebreaker," Harry said with a wink towards Bill who remained quiet. Molly poked her head out of the kitchen, curious now. "I've been rather interested in heading in that direction and I asked the Head Goblin of the Cursebreaking Department why so many breakers had long hair and he said that an interesting find revealed that long hair in men was actually related to consciousness or the sixth sense. Originally, they had had the breakers cut their hair so it wouldn't get caught or trapped on anything but found they lost their intuitive powers and couldn't access subtle extrasensory information."
Molly blinked in shock and turned towards her eldest, "Well…then I guess you should keep it. I didn't know that it helped keep you safe, or safer at any rate. Huh…" She disappeared back into the kitchen still puzzling over what Harry had said.
Bill turned and leaned into Harry, "Is any of that true?"
"Uh-huh but it was something I read about online for Native American soldiers for the United States military during the Vietnam War and not specifically about the breakers."
Bill gestured widely with his hands as if to say, "Well, there you go." He winked at Harry, "Good show, I'll have to remember all that for the next time she starts up about my hair."
Charlie found out about Hermione's Beast Speak abilities from George so the two were deep in conversation about some of the different dialects that dragons were known to have in comparison to baseline Parseltongue. "Harry's the only one I know of that can actually Speak. I can understand the language even if I can't Speak it. It annoys me that he can't teach me how to Speak Parsel but according to Salazar's portrait, it's one of those languages that someone has to be born into."
Charlie was shaking his head in appreciation, "Still…to be able to speak or just understand any animal would be such a boon to my field. I envy you; has anyone ever asked if you ever thought of becoming a magizoologist?"
Hermione chuckled, "Only everyone who's seen me in action."
"So what about regular, non-magical animals?"
"You mean like the farmyard animals you got in your fields?" Charlie nodded, "I can hear the chickens holding a round-table sort of meeting below the window there discussing the attributes of the rooster. There's one that doesn't quite like him and wants nothing to do with his advances while the younger of the hens thinks he's quite handsome." Charlie's mouth dropped open causing Hermione to burst out laughing at his reaction.
Ginny was over at the Lovegood house and wouldn't be home until later. Percy and Arthur arrived home from their respective Ministry jobs roughly the same time. Arthur profusely thanked Hermione for being such a wonderful friend to their daughter and to Harry for helping the Twins meet their heroes.
"It's just a shame that you and Ronald couldn't be friends," he mentioned regretfully before heading up the stairs.
"I tried in the beginning but Ron just wasn't able to accept the difference between the Harry he'd built up in his imagination and the real Harry Potter." Harry explained, "In his mind, I'm the dashing, bold Gryffindor who's always ready and able to go on daring adventures and fight indescribable creatures. In reality, I'm much more of a homebody who'd like nothing more than to just spend my days puttering around in my garden and experimenting with my potioneering talents."
"So Percy?" He turned to the young man after a moment of introspective silence, "How goes things in the Ministry?"
Percy sipped on his tea, "It's going fairly well. Mr. Crouch is my boss within the Department of International Magical Cooperation. I fill out the reports on my research for whatever topic he hands me and run errands for him as needs dictate."
"Do you like the position?" Hermione asked him. Percy just waggled his hand.
"It's alright. I would much prefer to be in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement but they didn't have any openings at the time."
Molly placed a serving dish of roasted chicken on the table, "You never seemed interested in becoming an Auror. What changed?"
Percy shook his head, "Not as an Auror but on the Law side of the department. I really wanted to become a solicitor helping the barrister prepare for court. Rules and regulations, precedents, case laws, interviewing people; that's the sort of thing I was interested in."
Arthur arrived at that moment and overheard what his son was talking about, "Percy, I know that my department isn't all that interesting but it is part of the DMLE and within an arm's distance to the lawyers." Percy's eyes widened a bit. "Perkins was planning on retiring soon and I would have an opening for an assistant. It's not much and you'd have to work with me (he gave a lop-sided smile) but you'd be able to interact with the barristers on a more regular basis."
Percy was flabbergasted, "I, I…thank you, dad. I think…I need to think about this."
"Take your time, Perce. You know where I'll be," Arthur patted his flustered son on his back.
Ron appeared just in time as dinner started. His fingers were still slightly blackened with ink no matter how much he rubbed them on his napkin. When asked where he'd been all day, he replied that he had been up in his room working on some summer homework that his Construction professor had assigned.
"Ron? I'm impressed with your newfound attitude towards studying." Hermione complimented the boy, his ears pinked in embarrassment. "It takes a lot of inner strength to overcome your hesitancy towards bookwork."
Ron just mumbled his thanks and buried himself in his food. Everyone could tell he was just embarrassed by the praise and not being his usual prattish self.
They briefly talked about the World Cup and the outcome of the game along with the riots soon afterwards until Molly put a stop to it stating that it wasn't proper dinner conversation. Harry put on a pompous pose that Lockhart would've been proud of and stated that 'it was a good thing he wasn't there for no one could resist the Power and Legend that is Harry Potter!' A moment of silence followed before everyone burst out laughing, including Harry.
[A/N3: I decided to stop it there. This chapter was getting rather long for a summer interlude (10,000+ words!) Until next chapter, y'all!]
