Chapter 12>
This time he was sure of it. He was being followed. Christopher walked as nonchalantly as he was able down the busy sidewalk of Tottenham Court Road. The young man behind him moved almost effortlessly through the throng of people as he did. But Christopher sensed that his follower was somehow inexperienced. For one thing, the young man was painfully obvious among the throng of causally dressed people with his orange plaid pants, mismatched socks, and a hideous green shirt covered by a brown jacket that was too short in the arms.
The teenager suddenly tripped and nearly stumbled into a portly bald man in a business suit. Over-zealous as well, Christopher smirked. But however inept the young men seemed, for he had over the past few days noticed two different teenagers following him, he knew instinctively that they were dangerous. Staying with the crowds had so far been his only defence but he knew that wouldn't last long.
The corpulent businessman turned a fascinating shade of crimson and started to bellow at the badly clothed teenager. Christopher saw his chance in the distraction and hurried away in the direction of Charing Cross Road.
* * *
Harry dusted the ashes off of his clothing as he stepped out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. He couldn't wait to get his Apparation license; Apparating had to be more comfortable than broomsticks, the Floo network, and portkeys. He rubbed his eyes; they were itching again; probably from the soot.
Waving genially to Tom the barkeep, Harry made his way out the back to the bricked entrance to Diagon Alley. "Three up, two across," he muttered to himself, drawing out his wand and tapping the bricks. Like every time he had been there, the bricks pulled themselves apart to form the arch that was the entrance to Diagon Alley.
Throwing a longing glance at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Harry patted his pocket to make sure his money was still there and headed towards Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. After finding and reading the complicated recipe for the Wolfsbane Potion, Harry had found nearly every ingredient for it in Snape's stores. Only a few ingredients were either too old to use or were nearly empty, but thankfully he thought that they should be easy to replace and not very expensive.
Hermione had been extremely reluctant to help at first; bossily informing him of the odds of his concocting the right Wolfsbane Potion without the aid of a licensed potions master. Crossly, Harry had asked her if the reason she didn't want to help him was because she was too busy spending time with Ron. Hermione's face had turned a brilliant shade of red that nearly made her head disappear in the flaming fireplace. She eventually agreed to help, if only to prevent Harry from poisoning himself and Remus in the process.
Harry gazed at the hundreds of jars filling the shelves of the apothecary. They didn't seem to be in any particular order…
"May I help you?"
Harry turned and blinked in surprise. "Ginny!"
Ginny Weasley blushed scarlet to the roots of her flaming red hair. "Oh! Er… Hullo… Um, Harry."
"Er… Hi… Are you working here?" Harry said trying to turn the awkward moment around. Ginny hadn't changed much from the past school year. She was still slender, still fair skinned with a smattering of freckles across her nose, and still had a head of flaming red hair, now pulled back in a simple long braid.
"Yes, Mr. Slug's son was at Hogwarts with Charlie… They needed someone to watch the shop and I got the job." Ginny shrugged modestly, seeming to get over her initial shyness as she straightened into a more professional pose. "What do you need?"
Harry handed her the list. She glanced over it and looked back up at Harry, a quizzical look in her brown eyes. "Fluxweed, Nightshade, vinegar and fresh Mandrake? Harry… what potion is this for?"
Harry winced. "Well… It's kind of a secret…" he mumbled, glancing away.
Ginny's face went carefully blank. "Oh. I see," she replied coolly. She started to walk towards the back of the store.
"Ginny, wait," Harry said, sighing. She turned and regarded him politely. He walked closer and lowered his voice, after glancing around to make sure no other patron was within listening distance. "It's for the Wolfsbane Potion," he said quietly and quickly explained why he was at Hogwarts, including Snape's disappearance and the coming of the full moon.
"If I don't make it, Remus will be have to endure the extremely painful transformation by himself." He took a deep breath. "Hermione's going to help me from the fireplace but I need those ingredients because Snape is out of them. Please, Ginny?"
She didn't move at once but her eyes softened and she nodded. "Come on, I know where most of these are."
With surprising quickness, Ginny found all the ingredients Harry needed except for the vinegar that the Apothecary was regrettably out of.
"Now what?" groaned Harry, "I have to start the potion soon or it won't do any good at all."
Ginny bit her lip in thought and suddenly brightened. "I know where we might get some; follow me."
Curiously, Harry followed her out of the Apothecary back through the entrance to Diagon Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron. Harry left his packages with Tom and they went out onto Charing Cross Road.
"There's a Muggle grocery store just down the street," Ginny said, ignoring the odd looks directed at her wizarding robes from passers-by on the street.
"Er... Ginny... Do you know how to use Muggle money?" Harry asked, glad that he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
Ginny reddened slightly but kept walking. "No," she admitted, "But you do so that's all that matters."
They walked so far that they were almost to Tottenham Court Road. The crowd was starting to thicken as they got closer to the junction and Harry occasionally lost sight of Ginny. Her flaming red hair served as his only beacon.
Harry was suddenly jostled violently by a tall man who wasn't watching where he was going. Harry's glasses were knocked askew and he had to apologize to an elderly lady as he accidentally bumped into her as well.
"Hey!" he said, irritated, as the man swept past, not even apologizing. Harry's complaint died in his throat as he caught a quick glimpse of the man's profile: hooked nose, narrow chin...
Harry dodged through the crowd, after the black haired man. It can't be... he thought, trying vainly to catch up with the man. Professor Snape? The man ducked into a side street and Harry was about to follow when he felt a hand on his arm.
"Harry! What are you doing? The store is this way," Ginny said, tugging at his hand.
"I thought I saw Professor Snape," he replied, standing up on his tiptoes to see over the crowd. It was too late; the man had vanished.
"Was he wearing his robes?" asked Ginny quizzically, "I didn't see him walk by and wizard robes are pretty hard to miss in a crowd of Muggles."
Harry shook his head. "No. He was dressed like a Muggle. If it wasn't for that nose of his, I probably wouldn't have thought it was him at all." Harry frowned as he thought more about the man he had seen. "He was carrying his left arm funny... almost as if it was broken..."
"Then it couldn't have been Professor Snape, Harry," Ginny said reasonably, "Wizards can fix broken bones with a simple charm. You of all people should know that, as many times as you've been in the hospital wing. Besides," she continued, seeing Harry nod thoughtfully. "I think Professor Snape is a pureblood. I don't think he would know how to dress like a Muggle properly."
"What does being a pureblood have to do with that?" wondered Harry, rubbing his itching eyes again. Must be something in the air…
"Most purebloods have no need to be in the Muggle world at all," replied Ginny, guiding him once again down the street. "And some consider it beneath them to dress like Muggles… the Malfoys are a good example." She suddenly stopped in front of a small building. "Here we are!"
This time he was sure of it. He was being followed. Christopher walked as nonchalantly as he was able down the busy sidewalk of Tottenham Court Road. The young man behind him moved almost effortlessly through the throng of people as he did. But Christopher sensed that his follower was somehow inexperienced. For one thing, the young man was painfully obvious among the throng of causally dressed people with his orange plaid pants, mismatched socks, and a hideous green shirt covered by a brown jacket that was too short in the arms.
The teenager suddenly tripped and nearly stumbled into a portly bald man in a business suit. Over-zealous as well, Christopher smirked. But however inept the young men seemed, for he had over the past few days noticed two different teenagers following him, he knew instinctively that they were dangerous. Staying with the crowds had so far been his only defence but he knew that wouldn't last long.
The corpulent businessman turned a fascinating shade of crimson and started to bellow at the badly clothed teenager. Christopher saw his chance in the distraction and hurried away in the direction of Charing Cross Road.
Harry dusted the ashes off of his clothing as he stepped out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. He couldn't wait to get his Apparation license; Apparating had to be more comfortable than broomsticks, the Floo network, and portkeys. He rubbed his eyes; they were itching again; probably from the soot.
Waving genially to Tom the barkeep, Harry made his way out the back to the bricked entrance to Diagon Alley. "Three up, two across," he muttered to himself, drawing out his wand and tapping the bricks. Like every time he had been there, the bricks pulled themselves apart to form the arch that was the entrance to Diagon Alley.
Throwing a longing glance at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Harry patted his pocket to make sure his money was still there and headed towards Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. After finding and reading the complicated recipe for the Wolfsbane Potion, Harry had found nearly every ingredient for it in Snape's stores. Only a few ingredients were either too old to use or were nearly empty, but thankfully he thought that they should be easy to replace and not very expensive.
Hermione had been extremely reluctant to help at first; bossily informing him of the odds of his concocting the right Wolfsbane Potion without the aid of a licensed potions master. Crossly, Harry had asked her if the reason she didn't want to help him was because she was too busy spending time with Ron. Hermione's face had turned a brilliant shade of red that nearly made her head disappear in the flaming fireplace. She eventually agreed to help, if only to prevent Harry from poisoning himself and Remus in the process.
Harry gazed at the hundreds of jars filling the shelves of the apothecary. They didn't seem to be in any particular order…
"May I help you?"
Harry turned and blinked in surprise. "Ginny!"
Ginny Weasley blushed scarlet to the roots of her flaming red hair. "Oh! Er… Hullo… Um, Harry."
"Er… Hi… Are you working here?" Harry said trying to turn the awkward moment around. Ginny hadn't changed much from the past school year. She was still slender, still fair skinned with a smattering of freckles across her nose, and still had a head of flaming red hair, now pulled back in a simple long braid.
"Yes, Mr. Slug's son was at Hogwarts with Charlie… They needed someone to watch the shop and I got the job." Ginny shrugged modestly, seeming to get over her initial shyness as she straightened into a more professional pose. "What do you need?"
Harry handed her the list. She glanced over it and looked back up at Harry, a quizzical look in her brown eyes. "Fluxweed, Nightshade, vinegar and fresh Mandrake? Harry… what potion is this for?"
Harry winced. "Well… It's kind of a secret…" he mumbled, glancing away.
Ginny's face went carefully blank. "Oh. I see," she replied coolly. She started to walk towards the back of the store.
"Ginny, wait," Harry said, sighing. She turned and regarded him politely. He walked closer and lowered his voice, after glancing around to make sure no other patron was within listening distance. "It's for the Wolfsbane Potion," he said quietly and quickly explained why he was at Hogwarts, including Snape's disappearance and the coming of the full moon.
"If I don't make it, Remus will be have to endure the extremely painful transformation by himself." He took a deep breath. "Hermione's going to help me from the fireplace but I need those ingredients because Snape is out of them. Please, Ginny?"
She didn't move at once but her eyes softened and she nodded. "Come on, I know where most of these are."
With surprising quickness, Ginny found all the ingredients Harry needed except for the vinegar that the Apothecary was regrettably out of.
"Now what?" groaned Harry, "I have to start the potion soon or it won't do any good at all."
Ginny bit her lip in thought and suddenly brightened. "I know where we might get some; follow me."
Curiously, Harry followed her out of the Apothecary back through the entrance to Diagon Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron. Harry left his packages with Tom and they went out onto Charing Cross Road.
"There's a Muggle grocery store just down the street," Ginny said, ignoring the odd looks directed at her wizarding robes from passers-by on the street.
"Er... Ginny... Do you know how to use Muggle money?" Harry asked, glad that he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
Ginny reddened slightly but kept walking. "No," she admitted, "But you do so that's all that matters."
They walked so far that they were almost to Tottenham Court Road. The crowd was starting to thicken as they got closer to the junction and Harry occasionally lost sight of Ginny. Her flaming red hair served as his only beacon.
Harry was suddenly jostled violently by a tall man who wasn't watching where he was going. Harry's glasses were knocked askew and he had to apologize to an elderly lady as he accidentally bumped into her as well.
"Hey!" he said, irritated, as the man swept past, not even apologizing. Harry's complaint died in his throat as he caught a quick glimpse of the man's profile: hooked nose, narrow chin...
Harry dodged through the crowd, after the black haired man. It can't be... he thought, trying vainly to catch up with the man. Professor Snape? The man ducked into a side street and Harry was about to follow when he felt a hand on his arm.
"Harry! What are you doing? The store is this way," Ginny said, tugging at his hand.
"I thought I saw Professor Snape," he replied, standing up on his tiptoes to see over the crowd. It was too late; the man had vanished.
"Was he wearing his robes?" asked Ginny quizzically, "I didn't see him walk by and wizard robes are pretty hard to miss in a crowd of Muggles."
Harry shook his head. "No. He was dressed like a Muggle. If it wasn't for that nose of his, I probably wouldn't have thought it was him at all." Harry frowned as he thought more about the man he had seen. "He was carrying his left arm funny... almost as if it was broken..."
"Then it couldn't have been Professor Snape, Harry," Ginny said reasonably, "Wizards can fix broken bones with a simple charm. You of all people should know that, as many times as you've been in the hospital wing. Besides," she continued, seeing Harry nod thoughtfully. "I think Professor Snape is a pureblood. I don't think he would know how to dress like a Muggle properly."
"What does being a pureblood have to do with that?" wondered Harry, rubbing his itching eyes again. Must be something in the air…
"Most purebloods have no need to be in the Muggle world at all," replied Ginny, guiding him once again down the street. "And some consider it beneath them to dress like Muggles… the Malfoys are a good example." She suddenly stopped in front of a small building. "Here we are!"