Harry wiped the sweat from his brow as he crouched near an open box, filled with hundreds of transfiguration books for first, second and third year students. He silently cursed the magical community for never inventing a spell to shelve books. It's not that Harry didn't like what he was doing, but right now he'd rather be reading the books, doing research, or even scrolling through the magazines and smaller publications. Anything to quell his relenting thoughts and fanciful explanations of why lighting didn't hurt him, why an arrow couldn't pierce him. The bell of the door announced the arrival of a new customer. It was a little early for those who preferred to sleep on weekends to be shopping for books. Quiet footsteps followed the person as they walked up next to Harry. He glanced to his left and upon seeing a black skirt and a hand holding a letter on which he read words such as "Hogwarts," "Fifth years," "Dragonhide Gloves" and other such rarities, he calculated everything very quickly.
"Transfiguration is three shelves up. Potions is along the back wall, second shelf. Herbology is in aisle four, second case, fourth shelf. Astronomy is in aisle eight, first case, top shelf, I'll assist you if you need it. The books on magical creatures are all of aisle nine. Your charms book is in aisle three, fourth case, third shelf. The books for the advanced studies classes are chiefly along the wall near the front display." He finished as he kept shelving books, resisting looking back over at the not moving pair of legs so near to him. He sighed before continuing. "Is there anything else, miss?" He said, not trying too hard to conceal his agitation.
"I was just looking for a friend of mine. I know he got a job here this summer, but I don't know if or when he's here, so, ummmm, can you tell me – "
"Does he have a name?" He saw her shift the weight of her legs from the corner of his eyes.
"Yes, but he may not be using it. I really don't know if you would know him as I do." He sighed audibly. This one was obviously a twit.
"Is it James, Mark, Spencer, Rodriguez, Timothy, Rick, Shelly, Sally, or Joe?"
"No, It's, um, well it's kinda like, Harry Potter." His gaze jolted up to the before unseen face of the nice legged individual who somehow knew of his employment, but didn't recognize him. He blushed for a second, remembering his thoughts from before he knew who it was, but he quickly controlled himself enough to look her in the eyes.
"Oh, hello Hermione. Why are you here?" He said trying to show happiness. She looked oddly at him.
"Is Harry here?" She said slowly. He rolled his eyes and returned them to her.
"Funny, real funny. So what do you want?" She slowly drew her wand, and he looked at her quizzically.
"Who are you?" She said with growing frustration. This only confused him more.
"You didn't drink any random potions, did you?" he asked. She only stared at him threateningly. Sensing her extreme intensity, he purposely made a sudden movement. She whipped up her wand and screamed "stupefy" at him. He saw her raising her wand, and following a natural reaction, drew his wand in a split second, with plenty of time to deflect her curse. "What in bloody hell is wrong with you!?!? Are you ill!?!?" He yelled at her stiff form in an oddly enticing defensive stance in a short skirt. He was debating whether to curse her or alert her parents. Maybe both. He stepped back and lowered his wand. "Hermione, calm down. Tell me what's going on." She only stared at him for a short while longer. He grew impatient and slipped his wand back into the wrist holster she gave him for his birthday. She sensed his lowering guard, and threw a body-binding curse at him. He dodged it and redrew his wand. "What in bloody hell – " She threw a disarming spell at him as he dove behind a book shelf. As far as he could tell she'd lost her marbles and was not sending her spells around in a friendly manner. If she wasn't stopped soon, there'd be trouble.
He quickly rubbed his wand between his hand to increased his reactions and agility in his fingers. He was about to step out from behind the book shelf when the cap popped off his wand revealing the phoenix feather inside. He let out a loud moan, and returned to his senses as another disarming spell came around the corner. It seemed that he kept being left in situations where his wand was not with him, or not working. This had forced him to do some simple wandless magic, but the advanced blocks and spells he'd need were out of the question.
With a sudden decision, he grabbed the biggest book on the shelf behind him and threw it over the partition between his aisle and the one she was in. He sprinted around the end of the aisle to see her turn sharply to him and raise her wand. The distraction had worked and she was too late, her tackled her firmly in her lower torso, driving her into the ground. She landed with an umph and he snatched her wand from her hands. She had genuine fear and shock in her eyes. He pinned her effectively and tossed her wand thirty feet down the aisle.
His adrenaline pumping hard he summed up his most firm voice and gasped "What is wrong with you?" She struggled relentlessly from his grasp, as tears condensed in her eyes. He felt pity for her, but he had to look out for his own welfare.
A sharp pain between his legs rudely proclaimed the arrival of her knee to the mentioned area. He instinctively slid off of her and she dashed, half running, half crawling to her wand. He saw the potential danger but was in no condition to move. He extended his hand toward her wand and wished beyond anything to have that wand come to him. He even enacted it in his mind, having her wand come to him. As she pounced on the wooden stick it moved eight inches towards Harry, ending up near her stomach. Both Harry and Hermione looked at it in total alarm. The wand apparently moved by itself. Harry cut his awesome admiration of himself short and tried to acquire her wand again with increased concentration. Harry followed the artifact with his awestruck eyes as it came to his hand with the speed a reluctant child cleans his room. Once the wand entered his hand, he looked up to the girl who was now sitting with her shoulder against the bookshelf. She raised her hands as if a police officer pointed a gun at her. Harry couldn't tell who was more astounded.
Taking slow deep breaths, he asked "Are you finished?" before tossing the wand back to her. He thought she said she was done, but with minimal hesitation she shot a fire spell at him. Harry rolled to the side just as the book behind him burst into flames. She proceeded to throw fire until he found shelter behind the purchase counter of the store. He found a strange orb, and guessing it was for a defensive purpose, snatched it and jumped up to throw it, hoping for any sort of reaction from it.
Judging from the severe change in color from her face, being from bright red to ghostly white, she knew what the orb was, and/or what it did. The fact that it scared her was no consolation to Harry. The orb froze above her, and exploded like a grenade sending a pulse of magical energy through the store. Her wand, his wand, and various magical objects in the store were rapidly sucked into the orb, until it glowed and fell heavily to the floor, not even bouncing a little.
Hermione dove for the orb, and upon grabbing it, tried to open it desperately with her hands. Harry noticed the smoke coming from the books he was near earlier, and knew that it would not be good to let a bookstore burn. He grabbed a random jacket off the hooks in the back hallway, ran to the bathroom and saturated it under the shrieking faucet, and jumped the counter, sprinting to where the smoke was coming from. He threw the jacket down on the flame, then pushed it against the enflamed bookshelf, suffocating the fire one jacket size at a time. He lost no time in retracing his steps back to where Hermione was.
Hermione had not physically given up on opening the orb, but her flowing tears alluded to a mental breakdown of sorts. I her hysterics, she threw the orb at one of the bookshelves, and it rebounded towards Harry. It bounced by him, but he gave chase, stopping it with his foot. For the moment he just stared at it, trying to figure out its purpose.
"What is it?" He asked firmly, knowing that only throught fear could he get her to respond.
"Anencasementmnt_chrm_tks_dkfj_" She began mumbling.
"What was that?" He said again
"It's an encasement orb. It's charmed so that it collects everything magical in a room. It locks it up and only the person who set the spell can get everything out." She was now standing behind him. He bent over and picked it up, feeling a shock, similar but stronger than static electricity. He turned to her and she fell backwards, hitting her head on a bookshelf.
"Are you on drugs?" He just had to ask as she rubbed the back of her head violently.
"No." she answered
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes."
"Positive?"
"YES!!!"
"Fine" He said, trying to minimize any offense.
"You are Harry." She said after slight hesitation.
"You noticed? What in bloody hell is wrong with you?"
"WELL, you didn't LOOK like him." She retorted.
"How can I not look like myself!?!?"
"Your hair and eyes changed color!"
"Barely, I still looked like me."
"You were missing your scar." She exclaimed in conclusive tone.
"After four years of CLOSE friendship, you still identify me only by my scar? What is wrong with you? These are not an excuse to attack me at work!!!"
"They are if I never wanted you to change!!!" The silence that fell was heavy and awkward.
"It's already too late for sentimentality about the "old" Harry. I am changed, whether anyone likes it or not. That's something each person will have to deal with on their own, including you Hermione. You of all people should know that. I have stuff to do, and I would appreciate it if you let me do them in peace."
"What stuff?"
"I have to get the crap out of the orb, put it all back. I have to replace the shelf you set on fire, and the books which you burned, and I have to do this before I go home in under two hours. I have to leave at eleven, I have an important appointment. So do you mind?"
"What about my wand?" She asked shamefully.
"I'll see that you get it before you take the express in, three days is it?" She nodded, and he took the liberty of guiding her out of the door as an aged witch entered. The old lady looked around and wrinkled her nose.
"It smells like smoke" she stated in a contemptible voice. Harry gave Hermione on last push out of the door before responding.
"Yeah, well, two books got in a fight, and when the "Fun with Fire" book tried to break it up, it got a little messy." Hermione turned to see the old woman nod understandingly to whatever Harry had said. She found great interest in the ground as she walked slowly towards the Leaky Cauldron, where a large fire pit was awaiting her for her journey home.
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Harry froze; he suddenly lost all will to move. Of course the massage was excellent. He felt relaxed, loose, and even a little energetic. But Of course he had to have a college years masseuse with a perfect figure. She was more than slightly arousing, and he wasn't prepared to announce his attraction to her to the world.
"We're done Mr. Potter. I have another appointment now, so you have to go."
"Can you just give me a minute?" he moaned to her.
"Fine, just don't be too long. Some of my other customers take forever to get up." A very disgusting image crossed his mind and in seconds he was back to normalcy. He rose slowly, making sure he kept his towel up around him. He forced himself to think of Malfoy every time he looked at her. She was wearing all white, and was relaxing in a plastic chair near the door, waiting for him to leave. He drew his wallet from his pants, and slipped a twenty pound note to her. She looked at it for a second, before turning her attention to him.
"You don't have to tip me." She said reluctantly.
"I know that, but I feel you deserve it. It was a very, refreshing experience." She greedily snatched the note, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"How old are you?" she asked.
"Fifteen."
"Oh, you're a sweety, you are." She chimed as he left the room blushing ferociously. He arrived at his changing room, and addressed his attire, before tossing the towel into the cart and walking out of Daphne's Spa and Clinic. Being only a dozen blocks away from the Leaky Cauldron, he decided to stop by for a butterbeer. Nothing like a butterbeer to enhance one's mood. He jumped on his Harley, and sped off into the darkening afternoon. The dark clouds were lazily drifting eastwards, shading the sun from view.
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It was another cloudy day. There were just too many of them. Harry rolled out of his bed. A package with an engraved flame sat on his desk. He groaned and staggered over to it. It was roughly the size of a shoe box, but seemed securely taped and packaged. He suspiciously picked it up and noted it's weight. He went back to his memories, trying to figure out what would be delivered. He wasn't expecting any pay for any potions, nor was he expecting a book. Giving up he opened the package to find a clear glass container with what appeared to be a white cylinder of something in it. He also saw a bubble at the top of the glass container. So there was a clear fluid in it to. He read the sticker.
Warning: Contents packaged in Kerosene. Kerosene is both extremely flammable and explosive. Fumes are flammable as well. Keep clear of sparks, heat, and flame at all times.
That's always a pleasant thing to read in the morning. He groggily wiped his eyes and looked at the other, bigger sticker on the glass container.
Warning: Sodium is a highly reactive metal. Wear goggles and protective garments at all time when handling Sodium. Store Sodium only in kerosene. DO NOT STORE IN WATER. For professional uses only. In case of injury, seek medical assistance immediately.
"Ahhh" it dawned on him. "That's what it is. Only…" he checked his watch, followed by his calendar. "Two weeks late." He sighed and snatched latex gloves he'd "borrowed" from his aunt. He put his hand in and pulled the six inch long, four inch diameter cylinder of what appeared to be a white plastic. Only it weighed a lot. He didn't expect the sodium to be white either. He placed the bar on his desk, and made and attempt to pull off a piece. It was useless so he tried using the blade of his scissors. That was futile as well. Not willing to waste any more time he used his wand to cut a sliver off the top of the cylinder. He was surprised to see that inside it's shell, sodium was metallic like in luster and color. He used his scissor this time to cut a small chip from the sliver he had. Satisfied, he placed the piece on his dresser until he was properly dressed.
He had already finished concocting the potion he needed the pure sodium for, so he could have fun with the large quatity he now had. The words "DO NOT STORE IN WATER" were fresh as ever in his mind. He simply had to see what happened when it was put in water. Of course his curiosity was purely scientific. With an evil smirk painted on his face, he grabbed a small bucket from the downstairs closet, filled it with water, and placed it in the center of the quiet Privet Drive. He took aim from two meters away and tossed the piece with a low arch towards the bucket. It fell in the yellow plastic container. Harry watched closely. A puff of steam moved fluidly over the surface of the water, before a loud pop send Harry jumping backwards. A cloud of steam and a shower of sparks appeared only one second after being put in. The ferocity of the water in the bucket cause it to tip. Spilling out the rest of the water. Harry watched as the sparks continued to dance along the street within a few feet of the bucket.
He remebered he had an entire bar of the same stuff. Harry procured an evil smile even Malfoy would have trouble duplicating. He picked up the bucket and returned it to the closet before entering the kitchen and handing Aunt Petunia her gloves. She didn't even ask about the smell on them.
"Harry, you hear anything while you were outside?" Asked the slimmer Uncle Vernon.
"You mean the pop?" Harry responded amiably. Vernon nodded with short sharp nods, having the loose flesh on his face shake as well.
"Do you know what it was?" his uncle asked.
"Yup." Harry responded while exiting the kitchen. "And that was only a sliver."
