I could have really left this as a cliffie, in a couple of places, but, bored, sick with a cold, I was "driven". I think I finally found something Hermione and I have in common-shopping. A couple of times there, I really could have changed places with her,and not just because she's got that"closeness" with Harry.Oh those bags and bags of stuff! I imagine Ivy did her fair share too, though she didn't get mentioned..
And by the way, to the expert out there who keeps telling me I'm coming to the end of my Harry time......NO WAY!!!!!
Paris Five
A Wizardly Protection
Harry didn't think he'd ever feel quite the same after the past few days. Most of the time had been amazingly good. He and Hermione had roamed through Paris, at least several parts of it, almost without any restrictions from Chris and Ivy. He knew this was partly because of the official underage permission they had from the Ministry,but was still surprised, in a way, that Hermione's parents didn't object to all the time they'd been spending alone. In a way, he thought he ought to be a little insulted. Didn't they realize his thoughts about Hermione these days were not entirely on a pure and "just best friends" level? When he asked Hermione about this, and told her how he was feeling, she (as he should have expected) had a quick and logical answer.
"As long as we keep coming back with all these bags full of shopping, I think they aren't too worried. They think we're spending all our time in the shops. And they expect us to be back by dark." She smiled a secret smile at him, and winked. "I guess they don't remember how many private places Paris has, or that you can do most anything in the daylight that you can do after dark. If you know where to go."
Harry felt his face go a bit red, but he retorted, "And I gesss they don't know how fast you shop. I never saw anyone buy so much so fast. I know you don't keep all of it, but what a system! And, if I weren't such a trusting guy, I'd be wondering HOW you knew about all these spots for privacy!"
It was true, Hermione and Harry had worked out a system that had turned out to be fairly foolproof. Hermione always bought just a bit more than she really wanted, or got something that didn't fit well, or was so expensive it made him almost lose his breath. It had worked just as she had told him it would though. Chris and Ivy were always so relieved Hermione wasn't keeping everything, and as she told them, "I know this wasn't a good thing to do, I'll take it back." Ususally they were so relieved, or proud that she'd realized her mistake, they'd say nothing about the rest of the shopping. Or the amount of time they'd been gone.
"We'll have to hurry a bit today though, Harry. At least if we want to visit that little bench in the park, behind the antique store where you got the inkstand shaped like a dog for Sirius. Remember, we talked about going back there today?" Hermione gave him an appealing look that made him want to skip all the shopping and returning they had talked about to head straight for that bench! He forced himself to sound reasonable, knowing Hermione wasn't going to be fooled anyway.
"We'll manage it all. I think actually there isn't much more we could buy, is there?" he grinned at her, thinking of the bags that were piled in the closets of the suite, then frowning. "What are we doing today that's so important? "
"Oh nothing so important- just plans for YOUR birthday celebration." replied Hermione teasingly. "And Mom's friend and her children are meeting us for lunch someplace, but Mom won't tell me anything about the place. They'll be picking us up in front of the Tuileries Pond at half past eleven. Are you going to sit there eating brioche all morning?"
"Maybe'" answered Harry, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her, noticing she had put her hair up in a knot on her head this moring, probbly because the weather WAS quite warm. " I think I'll stop though. Something better is bound to turn up later, that's better anyway." Hermione's neck did tend to smell very nice when she'd been in the sun, so he'd keep that thought in mind.
A short time later, they were on the streets of Paris, and Harry couldn't help thinking again, how perfect everything had been. He'd never really appreciated how pretty flowers could be, since Aunt Petunia always made him spend so much time slaving over the flower beds on Privet Drive. Each day though, he and Hermione had not only enjoyed the flower beds in the parks, but Harry had bought Hermione a small bouquet that she could carry with her throughout the day, and she had always pinned a flower or two to his shirt. He knew they probably looked like two silly kids, but he really didn't care. For practically the first time in his life, Harry was not giving any thought to scars, or Quidditch, or really anything but enjoying every moment. Maybe he was just storing up good times for what he and Hermione knew mght come, but so far, it had just been happiness like he'd never known.
They stopped at a flower cart, and Harry looked at Hermione's green skirt and pale yellow top, then asked the flower seller for a bunch of daisies and tiny yellow roses . As he handed them to her, Hermione said," I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I have all of the flowers you've given me, all in separate places, labeled and being pressed. I never want to forget this time, Harry. Guess I finally lost my famous logic this summer, didn't I?"
"Maybe a bit" Harry told her,"But if you want my opinion, you replaced it with something even better. I've never seen you laugh so much... not in
four years of school. I reckon the logic isn't buried too far down though."
Then he gave a snort of laughter. "If someone started talking about Arithmancy, or some strange ways to get into Hogwarts, I expect you'd be back to logic and "How many times do I have to tell you..." fast enough."
She gave him a slight punch on the arm, which Harry tried to dodge, pretending to be in great pain, then said, sounding relieved "Ah, here's the place I wanted to go. I was afraid they'd closed or moved." Harry looked at the shop Hermione was pointing to, and felt a strange sort of shiver. It was a very old place, and when he followed Hermione in, there were smells that he felt were something like the ones in Professor Trelawney's classroom. Although it had always seemed more a torture room to him, especially that last time, when his scar had begun to hurt so excruciatingly.
"Uh, Hermione, I don't know whether I want to go in here.Doesn't it sort of remind you of the Divination classroom?" He was hoping this would stop Hermione in her tracks. She had no more use for Professor Trelawney than she had for Rita Skeeter. " What are we looking for here?This place doesn't feel like you."
"How do you know it doesn't feel like me? Anyway, it's one of my dad's favorite shops. He collects these things." Hermione pointed to a case full of small carved objects that were under a dim light. " I'm going to get a couple of these for his birthday and Christmas presents. It's one sure way to please him."
"What ARE they? Some of them look like you'd find them in Snape's office. And this place does feel strange Hermione. Something like Ollivander's in Diagon Alley.....I dunno, I just feel it." He grinned at her and went on."Maybe you should have stayed in Devination a little longer. Maybe you just have that weak aura ."
For a minute, Harry thought Hermione was going to really get mad, he'd forgotten how insulted she'd been by what Professor Trelawney had said.But then her face cleared and she laughed. "That old fraud? I've got more aura in one finger than she'll ever have. And Professor McGonagall told me at the party, if I continue to do this well in transfiguration, she'll begin some work with me on becoming an Animagus this year.Oh and these things are called netsuke, and they're very prized by collectors. See, there are some that are really ancient, and others that were made more recently."
Hermione sure didn't mind springing things on a guy,Harry thought.
After all, his dad had been an animagus, he'd kind of hoped he'd be one of the first in their year to do some more advanced study. Of course, Hermione did pretty much score over 100% on all her transfiguration work. She must have noticed his silence, and put her arm through his.
"Hey!" She said softly. " I haven't told you what I'm thinking might happen. "
"What?" Harry asked with a forced grin. " You're going to become a cat, then you and Crookshanks can live happily ever after, right?"
" No, silly, I was thinking......you know how Sirius said he and the other three became animagi, but it took a long time, because they really had to do it all on their own?" He nodded, thinking ' She can't be thinking what I think she's thinking!' and Hermione went on.
"So just think how much easier it would have been if ONE of them had managed to get some help from a teacher." Hermione looked appealingly at Harry, and he wondered again, how this transformation had taken place, right under his nose. This wasn't breaking a simple rule.
"We'll be expelled and I don't know what else, if we're caught. And won't MacGonagall make you promise all kinds of things, the way she did with the Time Turner?"
"I'll lie." Hermione said cooly. "And do you think I'm going to let a simple thing like becoming an unregistered animagus stop me, if it means saving your life. And a lot of others, of course." Not looking quite as cool as her voice had sounded, and with very pink cheeks, Hermione turned back to the display case and began telling the shopkeeper which pieces of carvings she was interested in.
Harry wandered around the edge of the shop, looking at other cases and displays. One piece in particular struck him. It was a bright blue, an oval shaped stone, about an inch long. In relief carving on the stone was a stag, and on the stag's back was a woman, somehow showing in a less bright blue. The woman had long flowing hair, and she seemed strangely familiar. Oh, this had to be his imagination, or a coincidence or......
"Harry!" breathed Hermione beside him, in an awed voice. "Is that......?"
"Dunno, " replied Harry in a hoarse voice. "If it isn't, it's a pretty strange coincidence!"
Before they could continue the conversation, the shopkeeper came over
and peered down into the case." Ah, I see you have found one of my talismans." he told them, looking very serious. "You know someone in great danger? You buy this, your friend will be protected."
'Oh, sure!" thought Harry. I could most likely be looking at anything in here and he'd tell me the same thing. But then his eyes caught something he'd missed." What's that thing at the bottom. That long thing, with the curly thing at the bottom."
"Man and lady have killed the snake," the shopkeeper said. "This is what I was told when I bought this. It was a year ago. A very short man came in, said it had belonged to his friends who died. Seemed reluctant to part with it, but said he had no choice, had a debt to someone."
Hermione immediately began to haggle with the man over the price of the small oval, and Harry knew he should have been taking part in the transaction, but his mind had spun back to the conversation he'd had with
Professor Dumbledore at the end of their third year.
He'd just found out Lupin was leaving, and had been feeling nothing really mattered much, well, with the great exception of Sirius' escape. Dumbledore had said something like "Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt.... When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them.....and I'm much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter."
Harry remembered he had told Dumbledore he wanted no connection
with Pettigrew, but Dumbledore had continued,"This is magic at it's deepest, most impenetrable...but trust me, the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Peter Pettigrew's life."
Could this have been what Dumbledore meant. Or a part of it? As he was thinking all this, he felt Hermione nudge him. "OK, here, happy early birthday! " she said, looking particularly pleased with herself. "We'll have to check it for hexes and curses, but I did a little checking and it seems safe." She slid a thin but sturdy looking silver chain over Harry's head. and the oval dropped down into his button up shirt. "I guess you know, no time on the bench for us this morning. Mom will be picking us up soon."
Harry reached into his shirt, and touched the blue oval. It had semed cold
when it touched his skin, but had immediately become warm, as it if were a part of his skin. " I don't care how soon she'll be here!" he told Hermione, pulling her quickly from the shop. "Today is going to be the best day on the bench we've had yet. Now hurry!"
He hugged her hard, and then hurry they did, faster than Harry could remember going without his Firebolt, knowing they'd both be really glad they had.
To be continued.......
( Well, naturally, whaddya think? As far as what happened ON the bench, well, we all no doubt have our own versions of that in our minds.)
(PS Do I own anything here? Not hardly, except that little oval and the brioche. Thanks again JKR, I owe you!)
That was a disclaimer, in case anyone wonders.