Chapter 33

Magic and Mummies

At exactly 9:20 the next morning, Harry knocked on the front door of the Robinson's house. He had originally planned on being there earlier but had decided at the last minute to change clothes. He had started by just throwing on his jeans and a T-shirt he hadn't worn recently. Then he realized that they would be going to a museum and lunch so he thought that maybe he should wear his "nicer" outfit. He had only worn the clothes the one time that he had gone to the Robinson's for dinner. After all the trouble he had gone to when he bought the clothes to begin with, he should probably try to get a little more use out of them. Plus, he remembered that Cassie had said she really liked this shirt.

She opened the door a few seconds later and Harry had the brief impression that she was frightened. She pulled him in and shut the door behind him. Then he definitely knew she was worried about something. He was suddenly nervous. What was going on?

She stood in the hall, twisting her hands together. "Harry, I've started thinking."

He tried to lighten the mood. "Well, that can always be scary."

She scowled slightly, "I'm serious, here."

"I can see that. What have you been thinking about?" He hoped that it didn't have anything to do with more questions. He thought they had dealt with that sufficiently already. She looked so distressed, though, that he took her hand and led her into the family room. He sat on the couch and pulled her down next to him. "What's wrong? Did something happen with your family?"

"What? Oh, no. I mean, I'm sure they're fine. I've just decided, we can't go out anymore."

His stomach sank down to his toes. He just couldn't handle this on again, off again thing with her. "Why not? What did I do?"

She looked up into his stricken face. "No. I don't mean we can't go out, I just mean we can't go out."

"That makes no sense."

"I mean out, outside. You know? We shouldn't leave the house!"

Understanding dawned on him. "Oh, you mean that we should just stay inside?"

"Yes. I don't know what I was thinking suggesting that we go somewhere! I must be crazy! Anyone could see you and then that Volde-guy could find you, hurt you or even, oh, maybe even kill you!" Harry could tell that she was really agitated. He thought it was very sweet of her to be concerned but they had to be logical about this. He sat back on the couch and pulled her close with his arm around her shoulders. She was trembling slightly. He didn't say anything for a minute, just trying to let her relax a little.

"Cassie. We've been out lots of times and I've been fine."

"I know. But that was before I knew that some crazy gangster person was chasing you!"

"He's not chasing me."

"What? I thought you said he's trying to kill you?"

"What I said is that if he knew where I was, he would kill me. He doesn't know I'm here. He's not even looking for me, I think. As long as I'm not too conspicuous, I should be okay."

"I'm really confused, Harry. I must not understand what exactly is going on."

"All right. I'll try to explain it. And I'm going to be as honest as possible with you."

"I'd appreciate that." He thought she might have been angry, implying that he usually wasn't, but she was so distressed that this whole undercurrent missed her completely.

"I'm here in London mainly because this is the last place he would expect me to be. I'm not wearing the clothes I normally wear and I'm not doing any of the things I would normally do. So, he is definitely not looking for me here."

"But you said that people might recognize you, remember - that night on the Underground? You said some people would know you 'cause they'd seen your picture."

"Yeah, I remember that. But, they were, um, special people." Her brow furrowed at that. "I mean, only those particular girls were likely to recognize me. Most people around would not know me at all."

"Why were they special?"

He wasn't quite sure how to answer that. "The way they were talking kind of told me that they knew some of the people in Voldemort's gang. So, I thought if they got a good look at me, they might be suspicious and if they told somebody, well, maybe they would find me." That was a good way to put it, he thought, silently congratulating himself.

"What do you mean about your clothes?"

"What?"

"You said that you're not wearing the clothes you would normally wear."

"I just meant that usually I'm still in school now and I would normally be wearing my school uniform." Of course, he conveniently avoided mentioning that the uniform consisted of black robes and a hat. She was right. He was kind of good at not telling the whole truth. But it was for the best, definitely. "Anyway, another thing that really identifies me is my scar. That is why I always have to keep that covered as much as possible. And I don't like my name getting out too much, since that's kind of obvious. And I told you that my house helps me hide. And then, also, I have some way of protecting myself if someone finds me unexpectedly." He didn't elaborate.

She thought for a minute. "You mean your stick, don't you?" He was surprised and it must have shown on his face. "Well, you said it was for protection." He nodded slowly, unsure of how far to let her follow this line of thinking. "I have to tell you, Harry, I think you need a bigger stick."

"What!?"

"Well, if you're going to hit somebody with it, a bigger one would be better. That one wouldn't hurt much unless you actually poked somebody in the eye."

He laughed. "My stick does just fine. It's protected me lots of times before. It'll work, trust me."

She looked unconvinced, but rather than argue the point, she considered everything he had said. "So, if I understand you correctly," Cassie said slowly, "We can go ahead and go to the museum as long as we're careful?"

"Definitely." She relaxed against him and Harry sighed in relief.

"I'm so glad. I've been so worried. All night I thought about how much danger you're in and I thought I'd be sick I was so upset. And then this morning I just decided that it's too much risk to take and we'd just have to stay home."

"Not that I think staying home with you would be bad, but if you want to go out, we can." Harry pulled Cassie closer to him. She slipped her arms around him and they kissed briefly. Her hands found his wand under his shirt and then relaxed. He imagined that she just wanted to make sure he had it. After a minute, he pulled away slightly. "Maybe we should set a timer. Wouldn't want to break any rules or anything." She grimaced.

"Are you going to keep bringing those up this entire week?"

Harry silently congratulated himself on helping her forget about Voldemort and her concerns for his safety. "Only if you tempt me to break them."



"Tempt you to break them?"

"Yeah, by looking so good that it makes me want to keep kissing you."

"Well, you look pretty good yourself. I guess great minds think alike." She had apparently also decided to dress up a little. Harry thought she looked really fantastic in the dark blue sun dress she had put on that morning. He kissed her again quickly.

"So, you said your family got away okay?"

"Yes. They were pretty tired. I imagine they'll all sleep on the plane."

"I've never been on an airplane. I think it would be really hard to sleep on one. I'd be too nervous the plane would crash."

"Actually, it's not that frightening. I've been on one a few times. Sometimes I sleep and sometimes I don't." She sat quietly for a few minutes and Harry wondered if she was regretting not going with them. Then she smiled brightly, and he decided not to worry about it. It had been her decision to make. "I think the museum opens at ten, so we can go anytime. Are you sure that this sounds like something you'd like to do? Now that my dad is gone, we can change our minds."

"I don't really care what we do, but I think the museum sounds as good as any. I haven't been anywhere in London, practically, so anything that sounds fun to you would probably be interesting to me."

"Well, the museum actually is kind of interesting. They not only have Egyptian artifacts, but also ancient Celtic, Roman and other types of artifacts. I just try not to let my dad know I enjoy it. He drags us kids to it enough as it is."

"It sounds great. Are you ready to go?"

Cassie hesitated a moment and said, "I better make sure all of the doors are locked. Would you like to come with me?"

Harry was looking around as they walked down the hall. Cassie went into what was obviously her father's office or study and checked the door to the garden. "I've never been in the back part of your house. It seems really nice."

"Really? You haven't? Well, I'll give you a quick tour if you want." At his agreement, she showed him the guest room, her brothers' room, a bathroom, her parents' room and finally, her own bedroom. Harry stood at the doorway, acutely aware of the fact that Cassie had made sure not to enter his own room. It was just too intimate of a space.

Her room looked very much like Harry would have imagined it. The colors were calming, pale purple and blue, lots of white so that things looked cool and clean. Then, every once in a while, there were dashes of hot pink - a color that surprised Harry. But, that was like her also, he thought, with her occasional flashes of temper adding color to her fun personality. There were some nice art prints on the wall, along with a couple of posters of what Harry imagined must be bands that she liked although he had never heard of them. Her desk was in a corner of the room and piled with books, writing paper and a telephone. The thing that intrigued Harry the most, though, was a fantastical painting of two white unicorns playing in a forested scene. Harry took note of it but made sure not to comment. He thought, considering her fascination with that movie Dragonheart, he shouldn't be surprised that she had a secret yearning for fantasy. Of course, he knew that it was not really fantasy, but he couldn't tell her. Too bad. After carefully looking at everything, he turned back to her. She was looking at her feet, obviously really very embarrassed at his long scrutiny. He said, "I really like your room. You must think my house is pretty depressing." He certainly did.



Cassie looked up from her feet and smiled. "Well, it could use a little, uh, well, something. But then you're only going to be here for a little while. If you want help, though, I could maybe offer a few suggestions." Harry shook his head.

"It's not worth it. I don't think I could take anything with me when I leave or anything." She nodded in understanding.

After she finished checking the doors, they left the house and Harry and Cassie walked hand in hand the few blocks to the Underground station. As they climbed onto the train, Harry took a quick look around the car to make sure there were no wizards or witches present. When it just looked like there were only Muggles, he relaxed a little and sat back with Cassie. He put his arm around her and she rested her head against him. He let his fingers stroke up and down her upper arm, amazed at how incredibly soft her skin was.

As the train started, he looked around at the posters in the car. He didn't remember noticing them much before, but the two times he had ridden with Cassie he had had other things on his mind. He remembered that horrible experience with the four teenaged witches and shuddered. That had been very frightening for him. Hopefully nothing like that would happen today. He just wanted to have a nice, relaxing day with Cassie.

He studied the posters across from him. It was a large map of the London Underground showing all the various stops. He realized with a sudden start that the next stop on their line was King's Cross. He had a sudden wrench in the region of his heart. He thought about the Hogwarts Express and Platform 9 3/4. He briefly wondered what he would find if he got off the Underground and ran up to the train station and went through the barrier, smiling at the thought of his trying to explain to Cassie how to walk through a brick wall. He felt a sudden longing to be connected to something magical -- anything really, to prove that his life as a wizard was real, and not just a figment of his imagination.

He didn't say anything to Cassie about this sudden bout of homesickness. He couldn't figure out what to say. It didn't help him feel better that they actually did have to get off their train at King's Cross. They had to go up the escalators and over to catch the Piccadilly Line. He stared for a long time at the set of escalators that would take him up to the railway station. It took every bit of control he had to stay off them. Maybe he could just go up and look for a minute. Maybe he'd see . . . . Cassie muttered an exclamation and pulled her hand out of his when he squeezed it too tightly. He apologized, but his voice sounded hoarse. She looked at him strangely but made no comment. After they got on the new train, they went one stop to Russell Square where they got off and resurfaced into the daylight. As they walked toward the museum, he told himself that he wouldn't be here too much longer. It couldn't be too much longer before Dumbledore came to get him, but he felt the gap between his life and the wizarding world growing wider by the day. He ached with a longing for something or someone familiar with an intensity that he could hardly believe.

Harry tried to distract himself by studying the street signs and shops they were passing. It was a nice area of town. He glanced at one of the street names. Another sudden wrench of his heart occurred a few minutes later when he realized where they were. They were only a few minutes' walk from the very dingy pub called The Leaky Cauldron. The ache that rose in his throat was now almost tangible. Behind that pub was a dark musty courtyard full of beaten up dustbins. And if he were to take his wand out and tap on a certain brick in the wall, an archway would open and he could enter another world - an amazing magical world, the shops of Diagon Alley. He was so close to where he would truly feel at home, but he may as well have been a million miles away. He was as isolated from it as he had ever been, even counting the time that he didn't even know he was a wizard. At least then, wizarding people knew about him. But now they all thought he was dead. His chest hurt with the pain of it all. He thought of Bill working at Gringott's and, of course, the twins Fred and George with their Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes magical joke shop. If only he could see them for a moment, just as a reminder that they really did exist. He decided at that moment that he probably would have traded every bit of gold in his vault at Gringott's for his invisibility cloak. He could then travel unseen and undetected around Diagon Alley and reassure himself that he could return there someday. But his cloak was with all his other belongings and where that was, well, he did not know. He had absolutely nothing of his own except for his wand, and it was practically worthless as he could not use it. He fingered it through his T-shirt, thinking that at least it proved that his life as a wizard was not just some fantastic dream that he would wake from with Aunt Petunia pounding on the door of his cupboard.

His mood continued to darken and he lost himself in long moments of self-pity as he and Cassie walked down the street. Cassie was very quiet also, seeming to be able to sense his bad mood and not trying to pull him out of it. Maybe she attributed his quiet to his worry about "that Volde-guy" but he wasn't sure.

After a few more minutes' walk, they were standing in front of the marble-pillared British Museum. Harry watched with detachment all the people going in and out of the front doors.

Cassie stopped before the first step and looked searchingly into Harry's green eyes. She hesitated for a moment and then said tentatively, "I can tell there's something bothering you. Do you still want to go in? Is there something you would rather do? Is there anything I can do?"

Harry thought silently for a couple of moments, mentally and almost physically fighting to push the homesickness back into the corners of his mind. "No, let's go. I'm sure it will be great."

Well, okay. Maybe not great. Looking back, Harry would have called it terrible, actually. He still couldn't believe it had actually happened. But he knew it had.

The first 30 minutes were quite enjoyable. They had decided to save the Egyptian stuff for last, so had started with the ancient Roman, Celtic, and Druid displays. It was all very interesting to look at, although Harry knew that most of the information given in front of each case was at best incomplete and at worst absolutely wrong. He knew enough about the history of magic to know that each of these cultures had had powerful magicians in their day. Most of the artifacts and things that were displayed were obviously magical but were explained with no mention of magic at all. Not that he expected it, but it was sort of amusing to the see the extent that Muggles went to so that they could avoid acknowledging any sort of "supernatural" things.

It was in the Druid area that Harry saw him first. He could tell even from that far away that this was someone he did not want to meet. He was wearing rather conservative robes, for a wizard. They were dark blue and semi-normal looking. And, he was not wearing a hat. (Small miracles.) Harry feigned interest in a display in a different room, drawing Cassie away from the artifacts she was looking at. As soon as he could do it without arousing her suspicions, he said that he wanted to go down to the level below and start looking at the Egyptian stuff.

Harry, to his surprise, found himself enjoying the displays about the mummies. He tried not to spend too much time looking around for him as Cassie had noticed he seemed to be looking for someone and had commented about it. Harry was just starting to relax, figuring that he had managed to avoid the wizard, when there he was, suddenly -- standing next to Cassie. If Harry had not known that there had been no "pop," he would have sworn that he apparated there. Cassie stepped back, surprised, but quickly recovered her usual friendly poise. "Hello."

"Hello. It's always nice to see young people striving to learn more about our history and culture." He smiled broadly, including both Cassie and Harry in his greeting. Harry swallowed. His mouth was very dry.

"Well, we're trying. It seems to me that the scientists don't know very much about some of these things and they're just pretending to. Some of these explanations don't make much sense." Cassie was smiling faintly, indicating the case she stood in front of which was a display of some tomb artifacts from a pyramid.

"Well, that's because they're ignoring the magic."

"The magic . . . .?"

Harry had moved quickly to stand by Cassie, taking her arm, intent on leading her away from the old wizard. And he was old, no question about that. His hair was silvery and long, not as long as Dumbledore's, but well past his shoulders. Harry figured that he was probably 100 if he was a day, although he still looked spry. Harry secretly checked his own reflection in the glass case. His hair had grown quite a bit in the last three weeks and he hadn't been able to trim it with magic as he usually did at school so it was annoyingly in his eyes. But the good thing about this was that his longer bangs covered his scar well, and he did not think that it had been spotted - yet. He absolutely had to get both he and Cassie away from the wizard immediately, though, before his secrecy was compromised. Cassie was still talking to the man, though, and Harry thought that he might be more obvious if he made a fuss than if he just waited until an opportunity presented itself to separate.

"So you're saying that all of the tomb curses and things that we read about and see in horror movies are real, and that they were placed by magic?"

"Oh yes, of course. That's the only . . . . Well, your friend here should know all about it." He fixed Harry with a shrewd gaze. "Haven't you told her about Egyptian magic?" Harry jumped.

"I don't know anything about Egypt," Harry deferred. He only knew what Bill and Ron had told him, and truthfully it wasn't much.

"Hmmm, not been paying attention, I suppose. Where do you go to school young man, that you haven't been listening in class?"

Harry's eyes grew wide. It was obvious that this man recognized him as a wizard. He had noticed in the past couple of years something that he had not known before and no one had ever told him. It was a talent he was trying to develop in himself though he had not had much success. Some magical people could tell when they met another magic person just by being in the same room with them, like a magical aura, almost, that they could sense. But, then, Harry argued with himself, he should be able to tell that Cassie wasn't magical at all and stop talking about magic like it was natural for her to know all about it. He mumbled something, hoping that the wizard would take the hint, but he didn't.

"What was that? I couldn't hear what you said."

Cassie, being the ever-helpful person that she was, jumped in. "He goes to school somewhere in Scotland. At a small school." The old man jumped on that immediately.

"Oh, of course. It's the only logical place." He glanced at his watch which Harry noticed definitely did not tell time. "It's a little early in the year for you to be out, isn't it, boy?"

Harry's heart was sinking lower and lower as he was drawn further and further into this conversation. "No. Exams were last week." This was getting worse by the second. He was going to have to be rude, then, and pull Cassie away bodily. He doubted the old wizard would physically chase them. He certainly wouldn't use magic on them . . . he hoped.

"Did you pass history, then, boy, if you can't even talk about Egyptian magic?" Cassie was looking curiously between the two, like she wanted to ask a question, but didn't want to interrupt the conversation.

Harry coughed, hiding his mouth behind his hand, and spat out one word that he hoped the old wizard caught - "Binns." Apparently, he did because a look of comprehension passed over his wrinkled face.

"Ahh, that explains a lot. Boring as dirt, when I was there."

Harry gasped in surprise. He had never thought to ask but just exactly how long had Professor Binns been teaching at Hogwarts? And how long had he been a ghost? He covered his surprise by coughing again, "I need a drink, Cassie, come on. There's a water fountain over there." He tried to leave, keeping a firm hold on her arm so that she was forced to come with him. She shook him loose, however; she wanted to stay and talk longer.

"I'm still talking to . . . . Um, sorry?" She looked at the old wizard.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my dear. Where have my manners gone? The name is Alfred, Alfred Gottshawks. And you would be . . . ."

"Cassie Robinson and this is . . . ." Harry jumped in immediately. This was getting way out of hand.

"Seamus Finnegan, sir. It's a real pleasure. We have to be going, though. We have another appointment." Cassie stood there, eyes wide, staring at Harry like he had just grown another head. The wizard touched his chin, thoughtfully, staring into space for a few moments.

"Finnegan, eh? I don't believe I know any Finnegans." He pursed his lips, thinking hard.

"Uh, you wouldn't, sir. They aren't . . . ." Harry let his voice trail off meaningfully. He hoped the man understood the unspoken part of the sentence. They aren't wizards. He had thought that since Seamus Finnegan's father was a Muggle that the name wouldn't mean anything to this man. He was right. He hadn't wanted Cassie to introduce him as Evans. His mother's name might be recognizable. And he certainly hadn't wanted the name Harry even breathed.

"Oh, I see." It was obvious he did actually understand. The man was old but he was not stupid. He reminded Harry a lot of Dumbledore. If Cassie hadn't been there, Harry thought, it was possible that he would have fallen sobbing into the man's arms. His ache for something -- anything - from the magical world had been so acute only an hour before that it had almost overwhelmed him. And here the something was. It was probably for the best that Cassie was there.

Cassie was . . . not there. She had stepped over to another display case and bent down to take a look at some type of amulet. "Mr. Gottshawks, do you know about this, then?" The wizard turned to join her. Harry grabbed his arm, speaking softly but clearly.

"She's a Muggle." The man nodded, unsurprised. Undoubtedly why he hadn't been questioning her about her ignorance on the subject of Egypt. "She doesn't know about me." Now, that surprised the wizard. But he recovered quickly.

"Well, you'll have to tell her soon, Mr. Finnegan. You're a powerful wizard. She's bound to notice. It's not something you can hide for long." He stepped over to Cassie. "Ah, yes, my dear, that's a particularly interesting piece. . . ." Harry was beside himself with anxiety. It was obvious that the man did not recognize him immediately, thanks to his long hair covering his scar. But that didn't mean that he was not in serious danger. If Cassie called him Harry or he moved wrong and his hair shifted . . . .



Cassie and the wizard talked for a very long time. Harry could have sworn that it was at least a week before Gottshawks finished explaining that many of the human/animal figures that most people thought were Egyptian gods were actually imperfect animagus charms. "It hadn't been perfected yet, you see, and it was common for them to just retain their human body. I don't think anyone complained, though. They still felt very powerful." Harry's stomach had tied itself into so many knots that he thought it would never unclench. He hung way back, unwilling to be too far away, lest the man should say something disastrous, but not wanting to be bending over to look at things in case his scar showed. And, he didn't want Cassie to call to him. He was not sure she would remember to call him Seamus.

Finally, they were done. "Well, Mr. Finnegan. I think I have monopolized your lovely young lady enough. I really must get back to my office. It has been such a pleasure. So nice to meet you, my dear." He bent and kissed her hand gracefully. "I shall send an owl to Dumbledore immediately, telling him what a pleasure it has been to get to know you." He looked at Harry with a broad smile, not noticing that Cassie started in surprise. "Perhaps you two can return again. I work here, you see, helping with some of the more . . . . delicate displays." And then, he was gone, as suddenly as he had come.

Harry stood there staring at the hallway he had disappeared down, unsure of exactly what to say to Cassie, unsure of what she was thinking.

"That was interesting." He nodded in response. "The poor old dear."

"What?" That had not been his impression of the wizard at all. Old, definitely. Dear, you could argue. But not, poor, old dear, like he was on the brink of death.

"It's obvious - he's completely off his rocker." Harry almost laughed, but managed to control himself, hiding it behind yet another cough. "Come on, Seamus," she said teasingly, "you never did get a drink. It sounds like you're getting a cold."

While Harry drank the tepid water from the water fountain, Cassie rambled on about the things the wizard had told her. Harry knew that the wizard had probably been accurate on everything. It was obvious that he really knew his stuff. But she dismissed all of it, not in a teasing way, but just completely because he was . . . . well, nutters was the word she used more than once. "He acted like he knew you, Harry, well, knew about you."

"Yeah. I noticed." He knew that Cassie had been aware of it and she had also been able to tell that he was uncomfortable. He was sure that was why she had drawn the old man's attention to the items in the case at that point. She understood him so well, Harry thought, that it was almost scary. Harry said, "I just kind of played along with him. I think he thought I was someone else." She smiled.

"You said you were someone else."

"Yeah, I hope you understood that. I was afraid to use my own name."

"Yeah, I thought of that right after you introduced yourself with that ridiculous name." Harry didn't bother to tell her that he actually had a friend named Seamus Finnegan at school. It had been the only name he could think of that wouldn't be recognized as a wizarding family immediately. He hadn't wanted the old man to start discussing various family connections and genealogies. That would have been really problematic.

Harry delicately tried to remind Cassie that he was in hiding and that meant that talking to strangers was probably a bad idea. Yes, even if they were old, and senile, and nice, and friendly. Even then. She grimaced. "Sorry, Harry. I could tell he was nice." Harry accepted her apology, trying to appear relaxed about the situation, but he was actually quite concerned. The wizard might have just been faking ignorance of who he really was. Harry Potter's face was probably one of the most easily recognized in the wizarding world. He hoped the man really was "nutters." Then maybe nobody would believe him if he said he saw Harry Potter looking at mummies at the British Museum. He doubted that this was the case, though.

They looked around a little more at some displays but Harry had lost interest completely. They stopped at the gift shop on the way out where Harry bought Cassie a small bracelet to remind her of the day. She wanted to buy him something in return and, although he protested loudly, she managed to find a T-shirt that he didn't think was too embarrassing. On the way out the door, they stopped at an employee directory. Cassie looked carefully over the names -- no Goshawks was listed. She said she was not surprised, that he was too old to be working, and that he was so obviously, well, senile. "Did you notice, Harry? He was wearing a dress!" Harry coughed again and Cassie commented that she would give him some sort of herbal tea for that cold when they got home.

Despite Cassie's beliefs, Harry knew that Alfred Gottshawks was not senile. And he was quite sure that the old wizard did indeed work there. He thought the wizard was really interesting and that if he hadn't been in hiding he would have liked to talk to him longer. Maybe some day he would be able to look him up again. Harry hoped that Mr. Gottshawks wouldn't unknowingly mention something that would allow someone to realize that Harry Potter was alive and walking around London. He supposed he should be more upset about this possibility than he was at the moment. He knew the man had not seen his scar. He was a little worried about the owl being sent to Dumbledore. He knew that his headmaster would know that this "Seamus Finnegan" was really him and might be very upset that he had been spotted out in public. Harry thought for a second that he had not really done anything wrong - well, okay. There was Cassie. But he was not sorry about her. Not sorry at all.

They emerged a moment later into the summer sunlight. Harry had no idea what time it was. Then Cassie glanced down at her watch and said, "My goodness, it's two o'clock. No wonder I'm starving. Let's get something to eat."

Harry had to agree. He was starving himself. "Okay. What sounds good?"

"There's a restaurant nearby that we've gone to quite often. They have an outside patio where we can eat, if that sounds nice." Harry agreed and they were soon situated at a little table in the shade of a patio. The food looked really good and when it arrived Harry dug in happily. He had finished one of his sandwiches and was starting on the second when Cassie looked at a spot behind his shoulder and tilted her head, obviously puzzled.

"That's odd." Harry had a sudden sinking feeling. Those words, when spoken around him, usually meant that trouble was not far behind. He didn't dare turn around to see what she was looking at but the prickling feeling on the back of his neck almost forced him to do it. He reached for his wand, reassuring himself that it was still there. "That old man, Mr. Gottshawks, mentioned something about an owl. And there is one. You don't usually see owls in the daytime."

"Owls?" His voice came out squeaky and high. "You see an owl?" He turned around and looked. Sure enough. There was an owl sitting on a low branch of a nearby tree, looking right at Harry. Harry could see a note tied onto his leg. This must be the promised message for Dumbledore. He felt his stomach churn uncomfortably. He hoped he was right when he thought that he was not recognized. The owl suddenly took off and flew away. Harry took a breath. She obviously had not noticed the note, which she would certainly think was peculiar. No sooner had he turned back to his lunch, though, when Cassie said,



"There's another one. That is really strange." Harry just had to turn around again. This owl did not stop in the tree, just followed the same path as the other one but Harry was positive that he also was carrying another message from the old wizard. He hoped this wasn't also concerning him to someone else. That could be bad.

"Um, it's not that strange to see owls in daylight. It's a common myth that they only hunt at night. It depends on the species." That was a flat out untruth, but Cassie seemed to accept his knowledge on the subject and concentrated on her salad.

After they finished their lunch, they decided to head back to her house. Harry had really been looking forward to spending the whole day with her but the whole museum incident had made him nervous. He decided that he had better go back to his house. If Dumbledore did want to chew him out, then he better be there. Harry seriously considered asking Cassie to come with him but decided against it. If Dumbledore wanted to take him back to Hogwarts and was waiting for him at Little Chesterton Lane, it would make things rather awkward to have her there. No, it was better if Harry just went back and saw what was happening by himself. He would have to take the consequences of his actions. He had known that the time might come and it was a risk he had been prepared to take.

Cassie seemed really disappointed that he had to leave so early but didn't ask too many questions. They made plans to get together the next morning again although they didn't make any definite arrangements for something to do. Harry would just be happy to be with her, assuming that he was anywhere in London by the next morning. He promised himself that if today was the day he was supposed to leave, he would call her to at least let her know that he was leaving. The idea of leaving without saying goodbye to her had gotten more and more distasteful as he had gotten to know her better and better. At this point, he knew he couldn't do it.

Harry thought as he walked home that afternoon that he should have told her about Voldemort a long time ago. She seemed a lot more willing to go along with his ideas and suggestions without asking questions now that she knew that a crazy gangster was trying to kill him. It might have made things a lot easier all along. Of course, she also fussed over him like Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione, and his stupid doorbell, but Harry was used to that and had learned to (usually) not get too upset about it.

He was surprised when he got home and absolutely nothing was going on at all. The doorbell had its usual dire warnings of eminent disaster and Sir Lionel was still sleeping in his frame - just a typical afternoon in his crazy life. Harry had bought a newspaper on the way home to see if anything new was happening in the wizard world that made it onto the regular news. Apparently, there wasn't. It was a very long evening. He watched some programs on television and regretted that he had not taken a few minutes that afternoon to stop and pick out one or two videos. At least that would have kept his mind off the boredom. He would have to ask Cassie to come with him tomorrow and help him pick out a couple that she liked. He did read through the rest of the paper, though, laughing at some of the comics and enjoying all of the different advice columns. He did not really understand most of the political news although since he had been watching Muggle television for three weeks now, he understood it better than he had when he had first arrived. He was just folding the paper up to throw it away when a small article caught his eye. He read the entire article and found himself smiling. It was absolutely perfect. She would love it.

Harry went to bed that night eagerly anticipating his surprise for Cassie the next day. Her smile and deep blue eyes were on his mind as he drifted off to sleep.

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Harry was at the Burrow. It was as chaotic and comforting as usual. They were all in the kitchen sitting at the table, joking and visiting. Charlie and Arthur Weasley were sitting at the far end of the table discussing the possibility of dragons learning to speak English. Ron and Hermione were across from Harry, each holding a big mug of hot chocolate. Ginny was sitting next to Harry and he had his arm around her. She had her wand out and was trimming his hair. The twins were entertaining everyone with their jokes and antics while Bill was in animated conversation with Cassie, who was sitting on Harry's other side. She was smiling as Bill explained ancient Egyptian magic and various curses found in tombs. She giggled, "So, Mr. Gottshawks really wasn't nutters." An owl flew in carrying a message while another took off out the kitchen window. At that moment, Molly Weasley laid a large platter onto the table filled with bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs. She set another platter down next to Cassie overflowing with toast. Cassie turned her sparkling eyes to Mrs. Weasley and asked, "Do you have any wheat toast?" Molly beamed at Cassie. Just then Hedwig flew in through the window and Harry heard himself greeting her. She landed on his shoulder and nipped affectionately at his ear.

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Harry awoke with a start and laid there in the dark for several minutes savoring the peace and warmth he had felt in his dream of the Burrow. As strange as the dream had been, he wished he could go right back to sleep and once again be at the Weasley house with everyone, even Cassie. He smiled at the thought of a sheltered Muggle girl like Cassie having breakfast in the Burrow and was still smiling at that thought as he once again drifted off to sleep.