Chapter Five – When In Rome…
Author's Note: I changed the chapter numbers. You may or may not notice, but the last chapter was three and this one is five. It's just confusing I think to have me say one number and the site another, so I'm jus going like this. I just want to say that I'm an American, so I don't know anything about British money. I'm just writing to stuff that I've picked up from TV. I hope I got it right. If any Brits read this, feel free to correct me for future references. Also, I couldn't remember if I read about Harry getting his dad's pocket watch in a fanfic or in the actual book. So let's just pretend that if it IS in the book, that it never happened. LOL, I know you guys love how I make you pretend a lot of stuff for this story. Hey, I put a gay sales clerk in this chapter. I have a little fun with him and Harry. I just want everyone to know that I got nothing against gay people. They can do whatever they want. So if you're gay, don't take offense to any of it. I'm writing the guy as the stereotypical gay man. So laugh along, don't get offended.
Oh, I know that when you buy dress clothes like a suit and pants, you're supposed to have them tailored to the exact length and what not, but Harry knows magic. 'Nuff said. And also, I know there aren't mirrors in bathroom stalls…but in my story there are. So HA! LOL, I just want everyone to notice that I actually do not even know if the price of Firebolts was ever mentioned in the books, so I made up my own. And I do claim all rights to the Tsunami, LOL.
Harry stepped out from the doors of the Leaky Cauldron into the busy streets of London. There were numerous people walking up and down the sidewalk and driving their cars in the street. Harry stepped to the edge of the sidewalk and raised his arm to call for a cab, just like he had seen on TV. A minute later, a cab pulled up to him. Harry looked at the street to memorize the address for his return, and then got inside the car.
"Take me to the nearest shopping mall" Harry said to the cab driver. The man nodded and began driving down the street taking left and right turns at stoplights. Harry stared out the window as they drove. He looked out at the world that he had never known. His aunt and uncle had never taken him on vacation. The only time he left Private Drive was when they were on the run from Harry's school letters, when he went to the zoo because the Durselys couldn't find a babysitter, and when he left for the Weasleys, two years ago when he went to the Quidditch World Cup, or Hogwarts.
The cab driver pulled up to a rather large building that read 'Spring Crown Mall.' The driver turned around to face Harry. "Alrigh' there m'boy, that'll be twenty pounds." Harry reached into his back pocket and pulled out the wallet that he had bought. He pulled out three ten-pound notes and handed them to the driver. The driver took the money and smiled at Harry. "Well a'en't you Mr. Big Spender, thank ya' then, and have a nice day there sir." Harry smiled politely at the mad and got out of the car. He walked over to the doors and then turned back to the cab that was pulling away from the building.
Harry wondered to himself if the bodyguard that Dumbledore had arranged for him had made it into the cab. He hadn't felt anyone with him while in the vehicle. "Oh well," Harry shrugged as he pushed open the doors. The sight in front of him surprised him. There were people everywhere. A majority of them were teenagers. Everywhere Harry turned, there was a store. Now he understood why Dumbledore had given him so much time. It would take him hours just to find a store for him to shop at. Harry looked around at all the people and got worried. Where would he start? Which stores were the right ones to shop at? Harry spotted a group of kids that looked about to be his age and had on the clothes that he had seen in Dudley's magazines. The group was walking up the stairs to the second level of the building, so Harry decided he would follow them and hopefully find some clothing stores.
The group of kids headed into the store that Harry had been looking for as he followed them, Abercrombie. He smiled at his good luck and entered. When Harry walked through the doors, he blushed at the picture of the naked man and woman that hung on the wall. Harry walked over to the men's section and looked at all of the clothes. There were short-sleeved shirts, long sleeved shirts, jeans, khaki's, dress pants, sweaters, sweatshirts, underwear, socks, hats, sunglasses, bracelets, and necklaces. "What have I gotten myself into?" Harry moaned as he looked at all of the items.
"First things first, I gotta find out what size I am" Harry thought to himself as he looked at items to try. He knew there was no chance he was anything larger than a large as he picked up a large sized shirt. He grabbed a shirt and sweater in small and medium sizes and then some pants that looked about to be his size. He headed to the dressing room and tried on all of his clothes. "So I'm a medium and a size 30" Harry mumbled to himself as he came out of the dressing room. He returned the clothes that didn't fit back to their places and then stood there looking at all of the clothes. "What the hell should I buy?" Harry wondered as he looked at all of the clothes. Harry sighed and turned around when he heard a noise. There was one of the girls from the group that he had been following. She stood there smiling at Harry. Harry blushed. He wasn't used to girls smiling at him in that way. She has beautiful. She had blonde hair that ran to the middle of her back and green eyes just like Harry's. She wore a simple shirt and jeans, but they were tight enough to show that she worked out. The mystery girl came up to Harry and smiled.
"Hi, I don't usually do this, but me and my friends just wanted to let you know that we think you're cute," the girl said as her eyes traveled up and down his body. This caused Harry's blush to increase even more. If he wasn't used to getting smiled at by girls, he definitely wasn't used to them blatantly checking him out.
Harry then mentally scolded himself. "Come on Potter, get a hold of yourself. It's just a girl. The old you would blush and stammer out some stupid sentence that would make her laugh. Stop blushing and whip out some of that Potter charm that Sirius always told you about." Harry's cheeks faded back to their normal color and a small smirk spread across Harry's lips. Harry looked past the girl and saw two girls standing at a display of necklaces. They both smiled and waved at him. Harry looked back at the girl and took his cue from her, letting his eyes wander over her body. "Well, why don't you go tell your friends that I think that you're cute" Harry said as he smiled at the girl. The smiled at him and smiled a simple thank you and then turned around to her friends and the three of them walked away giggling to themselves. "Score one for Potter," Harry smirked to himself.
Once again Harry stared at all of the clothes and contemplated his problem. After another minute he got fed up and took one of everything. Harry walked up to the cashier and placed his mountain of shirts, pants, and sweaters on the counter. The cashier gave him a skeptical look. "What can I do for you sir?" the man asked.
"You are the cashier aren't you?" Harry asked him. The man nodded. Harry gave him an irritated look and continued, "So what do you think I want you to do? A little dance?" Harry sneered at him. The man looked surprised first at Harry's comment and then at the mound of clothes. He began to charge all of the items. After he rang up the last pair of pants he looked at the computer screen then sent a victorious smile at Harry.
"That will be three hundred and seventy-seven pounds. Will that be cash or credit?" the man said laughingly to Harry. Harry was about to reply credit to the man, but as he pulled out his wallet and looked at his money, an idea came to him.
"Hmm…let me see how much I have on me," Harry said as he looked through the wallet. He opened up the wallet wide, making sure to let the cashier get a good look at the numerous pound notes in it. "Let's see, one thousand, two thousand, three thousand…" Harry counted. He smiled inwardly as he flipped through ten-pound notes, not thousand. "Oh, here we are, some hundreds" Harry said as he pulled out the only hundred pound notes. Here you are, eight hundred pounds." Harry said as he held out the money. The man took the money and checked to make sure that Harry wasn't trying to pull one over him. Finally he grudgingly gave Harry his change back and put all of the clothes in bags. Harry gave the man one last sneer before he took the bags and left the store. Once he exited the store, he looked around for a place to put the bags in his bottomless bag. He spotted a bathroom sign.
Harry walked out of the bathroom with his bag full of the bags of clothes that he had just bought, thought the bag looked no more full than it had before. But before Harry could find another store to go into, he heard a shout from his left. "Hey Richie Rich!" Harry turned around and there were the two girls that he had seen in the store and two guys standing next to each girl. "What do you think you were doing talking to my girl in there?" the first guy asked. He stood with his arm around the girl that Harry had talked to in the store.
Harry looked at the boy and gave him an irritated look then tried to walk away. The boy just moved to stand in Harry's way. Harry moved to hi left but the boy moved again to block his way. "You wanna get outta my way there buddy?" Harry asked through clenched teeth. Harry had a lot of bottled up anger that he was just beginning to embrace, and he didn't want to hex some guy just because he talked to his girlfriend.
"Hey where are all of those bags that you had?" the other boy asked Harry.
"My personal butler is carrying them for me" Harry sneered at him. The two girls laughed at the boy, this only encouraged Harry. He stepped up to the first boy and shoved him back. "Hey, I think you're extremely good looking girlfriend," Harry looked over and gave the girl another once over, which caused both her and her boyfriend to redden for different reasons, "is allowed to talk to whoever she wants. Is it my fault she thinks I'm better to look at than you?" The first boy glared daggers at Harry, which he only returned with a less than interested look. "So was there anything else? Or did you just feel the need to waste my time?" Harry demanded with a glare that made the boy take a step back.
Harry gave a smile to the two girls before he left the group and walked away to look for another store. He came across numerous stores that had similar clothes to the first. He went to seven other stores and bought countless pants and shirts. Four hours later, and a bottomless bag that was soon becoming stuffed, he decided that his new closet was large enough to rival that of Draco Malfoy. Harry then sat down on one of the benches in the large hall. He sent back some smiles to girls that had waved at him as he sat. "Man, I wonder what time it is" Harry thought as he looked at his naked wrist. "I really need to get a watch," Harry thought. He sighed as he looked around the mall. "Well, now it's time for some shoes." He got up and walked back to a section that he had seen shoe stores lined up next to each other.
Harry walked into the first and looked at the walls covered with shoes of ever color and size. After an hour, Harry had ten different pairs of shoes. When Harry had bought a couple of pairs of dress shoes, it had hit him that he never bought any nice clothes. He had numerous shirts and pants that were okay to wear for school, but nothing fancy.
After he stuffed the boxes of shoes into the bottomless pit, Harry started looking for some stores that sold nice dress clothes. He wandered into Marshall Fields and was walking around the men's section when a sales clerk came up to him.
"Hello, aren't we Mr. Handsome. Can I help you sir?" the mad asked as his eyes traveled over Harry's body.
Harry tensed up at the presence of the man. He looked to be about thirty and obviously wasn't interested in the female sex. Harry took a step back from the man. "Uhh…I was just looking around. I need a new wardrobe and figured that some nice clothes wouldn't hurt."
The man obviously looked excited at the words 'new wardrobe.' "A new wardrobe? That is so exciting. Well, the first thing we have to do is get you measured up honey. I can't very well let your good looking self walk around in ill-fitting clothes. Now why don't we step over here so I can get you measured up." The man practically skipped away to fetch a measuring tape as Harry walked over to the spot that the man had pointed to. Harry dropped his bag on the floor next to him as the man came back with a tape measure. "Alright then, I'm going to measure your neck, arm, chest, waist, and inseam. So why don't you hold up your head high, and spread your arms and legs for me?" The man asked.
"I bet that's not the first time you've said that," Harry thought to himself as he grudgingly did as the man asked. He stood still as the man put the measuring tape around his neck, down his arm, around his chest and waist. Harry looked around exasperated. It seemed as though the man was taking forever. His eyes were scanning the piles of clothes when he felt a hand close around his 'unmentionable area.' "Whoa!" Harry yelled as he jumped backwards, away from the man kneeling in front of him.
"Whoops! Clumsy me, I do have butter fingers sometimes" the man said as he smiled to himself. Harry glared daggers at him as he watched him stand up and announce Harry's measurements. Harry picked up his bag and walked to find some clothes in his sizes.
"Great, the first time someone grabs little Harry, and it just has to be some thirty year old pervert guy" Harry thought to himself. Harry walked around and grabbed the same dress shirts and ties that he saw on the manikins. He walked over to the jacket and pants section and grabbed two suits and a tuxedo. "You never know," Harry thought to himself as he took the tuxedo off the rack. Harry walked over to the counter where the man stood and dumped his pile of clothes on it.
The man looked up from his nail filer and smiled at the large pile of clothes. "Will this be cash or credit?" Harry pulled out his credit card and slid it across the counter. The man took the credit card and slid it through the machine and began scanning the items. Harry stood there waiting for his purchases. He was thankful that the man wasn't hitting on him anymore. He looked down and noticed display of nice watches. Harry looked and saw a silver watch with an emerald face. Harry bent down and examined the watch more closely. Harry stood back up and pointed towards the watch.
"I'll take that watch too" Harry said to the man. The man looked up from the clothes he was charging and pulled out the watch.
"You have very good taste there. This will match beautifully with you're eyes," the man said as he smiled at Harry. Harry just sneered at the man and turned around. He saw a man looking at a woman's backside as she was bending over to pick up something. Harry's eyes got big and he quickly spun around again. The man had his head to the side and was obviously copying the other man's actions. Harry distinctly heard the man mutter, "Good looking from all angels" under his breath as he continued to scan all of Harry's purchases. Finally the man handed the large bags full of clothes to Harry. "There you go. Some big bags for a…big boy." The man winked at Harry and made another once over Harry's body. Harry was tempted to pick to throw one of his many new shoes at the man, but decided against it.
Harry walked over to the nearest bathroom and stuffed all of his bags back into his bottomless bag, except the one with his new watch. Harry took it out of the wrapping and put it on his wrist. It fit loosely on him. Harry checked all of the stalls to make sure there was no one else in there. He quickly pulled out his wand and muttered the same spell he had used on his clothes that morning. The band on the watch changed as it shortened so that it would fit his wrist perfectly. Harry smiled at his new watch. He turned and looked into the mirror on the wall.
"Nice face, bad clothes" Harry muttered to himself. It was true. He did have a very attractive face. The countless girls that had given him looks were greatly justified. But even though Harry's clothes now fit him, they didn't look very good on him. Harry walked over to the handicapped bathroom stall and put his bag on top of the toilet. He proceeded to stick his head into the bag and rummaged through all of his new clothes until he found something to wear. Harry first pulled out some dark faded blue jeans that he had bought and some green boxers. Then he pulled out the brown belt that he had bought and one of his new pairs of white shoes along with some socks. He took off all of his clothes that he had on and then put on his new ones. There was a mirror in the stall and Harry turned to examine himself. His new pants and shoes fit him perfectly. Harry studied his chest. He was quiet proud of the fact that he wasn't the skinny twig that he used to be. He had muscles now. He flexed his arm and smiled. "Maybe I should just walk out like this. I'll definitely get more compliments from girls." Harry laughed at himself. He finally just stuck his hand in the bag and pulled out the first shirt he grabbed. This shirt just happened to be a plain short sleeved green shirt that he had bought in the second store he visited. Harry pulled off the price tag and the stickers that were on it. He slipped it over his head and examined his new appearance. Harry studied himself. He had light creamy skin, long light blonde hair, gray eyes, a green shirt, and expensive silver and green watch, and a black bag hanging across his shoulder.
"Slap some gel in my hair and slick it back and I'm Malfoy's twin" Harry thought to himself. He was about to switch his shirt when he looked at the bag full of new expensive clothes. Visions of his rude and sarcastic comments he made to various people came back to his mind. Harry was slowly starting to become the same cruel person that Malfoy was. Harry looked again at his reflection. A slow smile spread over his lips again. "When in Rome," Harry thought to himself. He picked up his bag and exited the bathroom. When he was walking through the mall, he saw the same boy that had tried to pick a fight with him before.
"Well look who it is. Our friend Richie," the boy began. But before he could get any other words out of his mouth, Harry just walked past him, flung his left arm out and pushed the boy into the large water fountain. "AHH!" the boy screamed as he fell into the water. His friends and girlfriend burst out into fits of laughter at the sight. Harry merely sent a well-practiced smirk at the boy as he continued to walk away.
Though if anyone had listened closely, they would have heard Harry mutter, "When in Rome," under his breath as he smirked.
Harry walked out of the mall and called a cab to take him back to the Leaky Cauldron. As Harry sat in the back seat and stared out the window, he thought about his new change. He was rude, sarcastic, cruel, and a bully. But he was also confident, no longer afraid to think of himself, happy, and had power. He didn't have to be scared of his uncle anymore. Hell, he had just pushed a kid into a water fountain. A week ago, he would have just stood there and let the boy humiliate him. But now, he fought back. He was a new Harry. The old Harry was dead. "Only the strong survive," Harry mused to himself, "and I'm not planning on dying anytime soon." If anyone had looked into Harry's eyes at that moment, they would have seen a green fire in those enchanted gray eyes.
The cab pulled up to the record store next to the street corner that Harry had memorized. Harry paid the man and got out of the cab. He stepped up to the door of the Leaky Cauldron and looked both way to make sure that no one was looking at him before he opened the doors and entered. Harry walked through the tavern. He was about to exit through the back door into the small courtyard when he heard a familiar voice. "Draco! Oh, it's so good to see you!" Harry froze. It was the smooth voice of Pansy Parkinson. It was well known around Hogwarts that Pansy fancied Draco Malfoy. It was also well known that Draco Malfoy wanted nothing to do with her. Harry felt an arm wrap around his waist. He felt her warm breath in his ear. "I love what you've done with your hair Draco" she whispered. Even though Harry couldn't truthfully say that it didn't feel good, he was annoyed at being confused with his rival.
"You might want to get your eyes checked" Harry hissed at the girl before he spun around and faced her. "Going to strangers and feeling them up from behind isn't the best thing to do in public. They might get the wrong idea" Harry sneered at her. Pansy gasped and stepped back. Harry couldn't blame her; he himself thought that he resembled Malfoy a little too much. "Note to self, next time I disguise myself, definitely go with brown hair" Harry thought as he looked at Pansy. She still looked shocked, and then slowly, her expression changed as her eyes roamed over Harry. A smile came to her lips as her eyes met Harry's gray ones.
"Well, I'm sorry for coming up to you like that, I thought you were someone else."
Harry raised his eyebrows at her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Apparently."
"Do you go to Hogwarts? I've never seen you before?" Pansy asked while smiling and playing with her hair.
Harry looked at the girl. Granted, she was an annoying Slytherin, but she definitely wasn't sore on the eyes. "Oh, trust me. We've met before," Harry said as he gave her his new sly smile.
Pansy batted her eye lashed as him flirtingly. "Really…I'm sure I would have remembered you. I'm Pansy Parkinson. What was your name again? I didn't catch it," She asked as her eyes once again traveled over Harry's body.
Harry let out a deep chuckle and walked up to the girl. Pansy held her breath as Harry leaned in and whispered into her ear. "I didn't throw it." Harry continued to walk to the back door and opened the gate into Diagon Alley. Harry stepped into the crowded wizarding shopping center. Harry was about to enter a shop when he remembered that he needed to have his key changed back to normal. Harry turned and walked up the steps to Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
Harry spent about another hour in the bank. His key was changed back to its original form. Harry learned that Albus Dumbledore had deposited an extremely large amount of money into Harry's account. In fact, Harry now had two vaults down in the endless tunnels of the bank. But the second was charmed to transfer more money to the original vault when some money was withdrawn. Harry took another trip down to see his vault and after all the money had had spent on clothes, the vault looked like it had even more money was in it than before.
He was now visiting his third store in Diagon Alley, Wonderfully Written, looking for a new set of parchment and quills. It was a store that was located in the richer part of Diagon Alley. Harry had actually seen the Weasley's on his way to the shop and heard Ron mutter, "Rich Boy" under his breath as he passed him by. Harry almost turned around and said a sarcastic comment to his best friend before he realized that it was Ron. The fact that Ron was always jealous of Harry's money and fame always got to him. It hit its peak in their fourth year when Harry was chosen as one of the champions in the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry was standing at a shelf filled with different types of quills. There quills with all types of feathers. Harry was looking at a particular quill when he noticed out of the corner of his eye his ex-girlfriend walk in. Harry turned his head a saw Cho Chang standing at the door. She flipped her long raven locks behind her head. Harry stood there and gazed at her. There was no denying her beauty; it was impossible to say that she wasn't beautiful. But beneath that beauty was a self-centered spoiled brat. Harry looked at her and rolled his gray eyes. He was done with his childish crush on her. Harry shook his head and returned to his examination of the phoenix quill. It really would be a nice addition to his collection oh phoenix paraphernalia. After about five minutes of trying to decide, Harry felt as though he were being watched. He looked up and saw Cho staring at him from across the store. He made no attempt to acknowledge her as he returned back to his shopping.
A couple of minutes after that, Harry looked up again and saw Cho staring at him. It was stating to annoy him; Harry almost turned around and walked away. But that was what the old Harry would have done. The new Harry would confront the situation, not run away from it.
"Can I help you with something?" Harry asked in an indifferent, almost bored tone of voice.
"What?" Cho asked as she was cut off guard. Boys never talked to her like that. "No… it's just that you look a lot like a boy that I go to school with," she explained.
"Lucky guy," Harry said to her before returning to the quill. Harry picked up the quill and began inspecting the feather more closely.
"So," Cho began, "do you go to Hogwarts?" she asked.
"Nope" Harry said without looking away from the quill. He turned it over in his hand and began to examine the other side of the feather.
"Well I do." Cho was confused. She was used to boys drooling over her, not ignoring her. She was insulted. She had never been ignored by any boy that she showed interest in. Hell, she had even dated the Great Harry Potter. A feeling of determination came over her. "Umm…my name is Cho Chang" she said as she walked over to him and smiled.
"You must be so proud" Harry said as he gave her a bored look over the feather. He returned the feather his attention. It really was a beautiful quill. The tip was made of silver. The feather was a dark blood red at the bottom and gradually turned into orange, which faded away in a shiny gold.
"That's a really pretty quill. Are you buying your girlfriend a present or something?" Cho asked while biting her lip. "Maybe he's just asking like this because he had a girlfriend," she thought as she waited for an answer. The boy either didn't hear her question, or just chose not to answer it.
"Or maybe a boyfrie…" she began before she saw the boy put down the quill and give her an annoyed glare.
"Let me do you a favor and save you some time. As hard as it may be to your apparently oblivious mind, not every guy is interested in you. So unless you wanted to embarrass yourself further, why don't you move along and go bother someone else" Harry sneered at the girl.
Cho looked at him in horror and ran away in tears. Harry watched the girl run away and smiled a sinister smile. Harry heard applause behind him.
"Congratulations. I thought I was the only one who was immune to the whore's so called charm." Harry turned around and faced his twin. There standing in front of him stood Draco Malfoy.
"There's a first. His smart remark isn't aimed at me," Harry thought as his looked at the boy. But Harry then recalled that he was disguised.
"Even the Great Harry Potter drooled all over her, the fool." Draco said through a lopsided grin.
"There it is," Harry thought. "Wow, that's so cool" Harry said in a sarcastic tone. "We should start a club."
Draco looked taken aback. "Well, it seems as though you don't know who I am. Allow me to introduce myself, I am…"
"Draco Malfoy? Yeah, I know who you are" Harry said as he picked the quill back up. "Tell me, what do you think of this quill?" Harry asked him.
"The quill? Uhh," Draco stammered, "it's very nice I suppose."
"My thoughts exactly. Thanks." Harry smiled at Draco and then turned around and walked away. Harry mentally gave himself a pat on the back. This was one of the few times that he was able to talk to Draco and leave calmly. It seemed as though the new Harry
Draco watched as the boy turned around and walked away from him. That was a first with him. Usually people reacted to him in one of three ways. They sucked up to him as much as possible, yelled a nasty remark at him, or just gave him a dirty look and ignored him. He wasn't used to being politely dismissed, and on top of that, being politely dismissed by someone his age. The boy intrigued Draco. Obviously the boy must be an extremely rich wizard to treat Draco like he was below him. Draco followed the boy to the section where the quill boxes were located. He saw the boy examining a rather attractive wooden box with gold trimmings. "Whoever he is," Draco thought, "he has excellent taste." Draco walked up to him.
"Who are you? Obviously you must be rich to know who I am and still speak to me like that," Draco asked. "You already know my name, what's yours?"
"My name?" Harry asked incredulously. He didn't expect that he would be asked his name. Harry looked around the store and saw a sign advertising Ethan Daniel parchment.
"Ethan," Harry answered as simply as he could.
"Oh, Ethan!" Draco said sarcastically. "Well, I know who you are!" Harry smiled at him. Draco honestly had no clue that he was joking around his a boy that he wanted dead since their first year at Hogwarts. It amused Harry. "Do you have a last name?" Draco asked Ethan.
"Yes I do" Harry smiled as he turned his attention back to the wooden box. Harry felt confused. How was it possible that he could joke around with Draco Malfoy, prince of the Death Eaters?
The bell charm was activated as the door to the shop was opened; and none other than Hermione Granger walked into the shop accompanied by Ronald Weasley. Harry turned to see Draco's reaction. A scowl formed on the boy's face and Harry was once again reminded on exactly why the two were not friends. No personality traits were strong enough to make up for the boy's views on muggles and people of lower income.
"Well, well, well," Draco sneered at the two, "if it isn't the mudblood and her weasel bodyguard." Ron's head snapped over to the voice. Hermione also heard him and did her best to ignore him. "Where's the scar head? I've missed Potter oh so much" Draco sneered at them. Harry rolled his eyes at Draco's comment.
"Look you little ferret," Ron said, "why don't you and your little twin here leave the two of us alone. Nobody except for you is looking for trouble."
Both Draco and Harry looked surprised at Ron. Draco was surprised about Ron's twin comment, and Harry was surprised at the fact that Ron was calm and didn't jump at the chance to beat Malfoy down to a pulp. Draco turned to him and studied him over. "I suppose we do look alike," Draco muttered to Harry. Harry reciprocated Draco's movements and nodded his agreement.
Draco turned back to Ron and Hermione. "How Weasley of me, where are my manners?" Draco said calmly. Ron's face turned a slight shade of pink at his comment. "Allow me to introduce my friend Ethan. These are…well, it doesn't really matter who they are I suppose," Draco said as he waved his hand as though dismissing the two from his presence.
Harry watched as Hermione shrugged her shoulders and walked away. Ron lingered for a second longer than she did. He looked at Harry's face, as though he recognized him. Harry froze for that moment. Ron's face scrunched up in concentration for a second, before it turned into a scowl and he left. Harry let out a sigh of relief, Ron hadn't recognized him.
"So if you don't go to Hogwarts, what school do you go to?" Draco asked as Harry's two friends walked away.
"What?" Harry asked in confusion, but he then remembered his answer to Cho's question. "Oh, well actually I was tutored privately until this year. I've finally convinced my parents to allow me to go to a regular school. I'll be attending Hogwarts as a sixth year." Harry surprised himself at how easily he made up that story. "Must be one of my Slytherin qualities" Harry mused to himself.
"Really? I'm going to be a sixth year at Hogwarts myself. I'm in Slytherin House. And if you know what's best, you'll want to be in there too. If you want, when we get to school, I can show you around and help you pick out who and who not to associate yourself with." Draco then stuck out his hand to Harry.
Harry stared at the hand in front of him. The words brought Harry back to his first trip to Hogwarts, as the two boys and the other first years stood outside the Great Hall's doors. It was there that Malfoy made his first attempt to befriend Harry. His words then were almost the same as the words that he had just spoken. Harry had many times lay awake at night and wondered what his life would be like if he had taken Malfoy's offer. Would he be the same person he was now? No, Harry was certain of that. But questions like those occasionally haunted Harry's dreams. Harry still stood there looking at Draco's hand.
Harry half smiled at the boy as he answered. "Maybe." Draco at first looked offended and pulled his hand back. He looked at Harry and seemed to find whatever reassurance he was looking for before he smiled.
"Alright then. But I have to go; my mother is waiting for me. I'll see you at the platform." Draco said before he turned and left the store.
Harry watched the boy leave in confusion. He and Malfoy had actually had an enjoyable conversation. Of course, Harry was in disguise, therefore Malfoy didn't recognize him, but for those minutes, Harry was introduced to a different side of Draco Malfoy. He seemed friendly, and almost nice to Harry, no, Ethan. Draco was nice to Ethan. The two smiled and joked around, they both received death glares from Ron Weasley together, and they even made semi-plans to hang out at Hogwarts. Though Harry knew that the two would never actually follow through on those plans once Draco realized who Ethan really was.
Then again, he was still the same Draco Malfoy. The Draco Malfoy that called Hermione and others Mudbloods. He was also the same Draco Malfoy who tried to get Harry and his friends expelled from school countless times. He was also the same Draco Malfoy who tried to get Hagrid fired and sent to Azkaban for sheltering an illegal dragon. He was also the same Draco Malfoy who tried to get Buckbeak killed. He was also the same Draco Malfoy who was the son of Lucius Malfoy. He was also the same Draco Malfoy who had endlessly threatened him with death. But, he was also the same Malfoy who had just offered to help the new kid out, show him around the school, and befriend him.
"Maybe he's changed?" Harry thought. "Maybe he's deluded? Maybe I'm just imagining things? Maybe that wasn't him at all? Maybe I'm crazy for even thinking that Malfoy and me could ever be friends. He hates me, he wants me dead, I'm at the top of his boss's death list, and I'm the one who's antagonized him for the past six years. And on top of all that, I'm a Gryffindor." Harry laughed at himself as he shook his head. The very thought of him and Malfoy being friends was comical.
Harry finished his shopping at the store and paid for his new quills, box holder, and sheets of parchment that he had bought. From the store, he headed over to Flourish and Bolts to buy his new schoolbooks. Harry was interested at the dueling book that was listed. Apparently, Dumbledore decided to add Dueling as the newest class at Hogwarts. Harry bought all of the books on his list and went to the witch at the front o pay for them. While paying for his items, the witch explained that since he didn't know which classes he would be taking, he could send back the books of classes he wouldn't be taking after he found out his schedule and be refunded for them. Harry thanked the woman and left the store. He was finally done with his school shopping. Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was half past six and realized that he hadn't eaten all day. Harry headed over to the Leaky Cauldron and ordered some dinner.
Tom brought him his food and left again without a second glance at Harry's forehead. Harry smiled and was grateful that he was finally able to go out into public without people constantly staring at him and his forehead with their mouths hanging open. Though this was only accomplished after numerous charms to change his appearance.
When Harry finished his meal, he still had an hour to waste before his window was open to return to the Dursleys' home. Harry paid for his meal and decided to wander around the shops until he had to leave. As Harry was walking, he passed by Quality Quidditch and did a double take to the store's window. There behind the glass was the most beautiful broom Harry had ever seen. The handle was of a dark mahogany with a golden tip. It reflected the light of the setting sun on the polished wooden handle. Across it, the word 'Tsunami' was written in gold letters. The twigs at the end of the broom were clipped perfectly and were held together by a gold band at the base of the broom. Harry stood in awe of the broom. He quickly walked into the store and to a man behind a counter.
"Is that the latest broom model out there?" Harry asked as he pointed to the broom.
"Why yes it is my boy. It's called the Tsunami; it's said to be able to go one hundred kilometers per hour faster than the Firebolt." The man said. Harry's mouth hung open. That was one extremely fast broom. "Yes sir, fastest broom on the planet, and the most expensive too. I can't imagine that I'll sell to many of those." The man sighed as he looked at the broom then turned around to tend to some boxes lying on the ground.
"I'll take one" Harry said to the man. The man froze and then slowly turned around to face Harry.
"I don't think you understand son, that" he said as he pointed to the broom, "is the most expensive broom there is. It's not something you can just buy on an impulse, that'll probably eat up your parents' paycheck for the year." He said as he looked at Harry, but Harry was unfazed.
"Well then, how fortunate for me that my parents wont mind me buying myself a birthday present" Harry said darkly. The man still looked at Harry as though he were crazy. "Tell you what, how much cheaper would it be if I traded in my Firebolt for the Tsunami?" Harry asked. The man's jaw dropped down.
"You've…you've got a Firebolt???" the man asked incredulously. Harry nodded his head with a new energy of superiority.
"That's right, my birthday present during my third year at Hogwarts. So as I was saying, how much less would it be if I trade in my Firebolt for it?" Harry asked.
"Well, I don't know. I've never really had anyone trade in a Firebolt before…" the man stammered. "Firebolts these days go for about three hundred thousand galleons. And of course I would need to fix it up and still make enough money off of it. Merlin, this definitely has to be a first. I suppose I could give you two hundred and fifty thousand galleons for it. And let me see how much the Tsunami is going for." The man excused himself and went to a back room. He returned a minute later with his eyes slightly wide. "It says that Tsunamis cost seven hundred and fifty thousand galleons."
Harry looked a little worried at that. He really wanted that broom, but he didn't want to blow all his money on a broom. But then Harry remembered what the goblin had said at the bank. He did have two vaults full of galleons, and if that were true, then he would probably just spend all of the second vaults gold. He would probably be left with what he originally had. Also, there was the fact that he was trading in his Firebolt for it. After the trade in, he would only be spending, five hundred thousand galleons instead of seven hundred and fifty thousand. But he really wanted that broom.
"I'll take it" Harry said as he stuck out his hand. The man took it in his own and the two shook on it. The man went back into the back room and came back with a contract. Harry panicked. The man would need his name for the contract most likely, and Harry didn't need to be recognized after a full day of being just another teenage boy.
"I'll need your vault key to Gringotts and your name, or at least the person who it should be delivered to and the location. And also, I'll need your thumbprint at the bottom right here stating that you agree to the trade the prices we discussed. Harry nodded his head at the man in joy. They didn't need his name. He dug out his vault key and pressed it to the parchment where it indicated. The outline of the key was burned onto the parchment in black. Harry then placed his thumb where he had to after reading the contract thoroughly. All that was left was the name of the person whom the store had to deliver the broom to. Harry hesitated for a second. He was tempted to put his own name there, the man would probably think that Harry Potter was a friend of his and that he was buying him a present. But then he thought to himself, "Who buys their friend a present that costs seven hundred and fifty thousand galleons?" Harry smirked as a reply came to him head. "Malfoy."
Harry bit his lip and then smiled as an idea came to mind. Harry touched the quill to the parchment and wrote a name.
Ethan BlackHarry smiled at the man as he handed him back the contract. The man smiled back at Harry. "I must say," the man looked at the contract, "Ethan?" he asked. Harry nodded his head affirmatively. "I must say Mr. Black, this is a very exciting moment for me. I never really thought I would sell many of these. And here I am, selling my second one of the day."
"Second?" Harry asked in confusion. "Who else would have the money and the balls to spend it on the broom?" Harry thought to himself.
The man nodded. "I know, exactly what I'm thinking. Well, you can expect your broom to arrive in a little over a month. They aren't supposed to be released until the tenth of September. If you want to receive the broom on the day it is released, owl your Firebolt to me the ninth, and then I'll send your owl back to you the next day. It should arrive by the time you sit down for breakfast. Just imagine, you'll be one of only two kids at Hogwarts with one of these beauties.
The man's last comment stuck in Harry's brain as the two once again shook hands and Harry left. If there were two kids at Hogwarts who just bought a Tsunami, who was the other? Harry stepped into the stone walkway in front of the shop. He absent-mindedly checked his watch before his eyes bulged out of his head. It was five to eight and it would take him at least ten minutes to get back to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry took off running in the blink of an eye.
He finally made it to the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace with forty seconds to spare. "I've got to stop cutting it so close" Harry thought as he bent over and put his hands and his thighs breathing heavily. Harry took one last breath before he reached for the green powder and through it into the fire.
"Number four Private Drive!" Harry yelled as he was swept away in the flames.
What'd you guys think? I hope you liked it. I started this chapter awhile ago and wrote about nine pages of it, but then I put off writing the rest. Tell me what you think! What did you like? What did you hate? What would you have rather read? I need input so I can make this a better story. I know a got a lot of people reviewing on how they hated a whole Draco/Harry friendship, so I gave you a little taste in this chapter to see what your reactions would be. Did you love/hate it? I gotta be honest, writing the Harry/Draco scene was really fun and natural for me. But I don't want to continue something that you guys wont wanna read. But also keep in mind that that is the nicest the two will ever be to each other. I don't want them having sleep overs or anything. But to those who have a love for Harry/Draco confrontations, I believe there will most likely be one in the next chapter. LOL, an all out cat fight between then two. Also, I'll address the whole 'Harry not sticking up for Ron and Hermione' issue in the next chapter when he tells them about his trip to Diagon Alley.
So I'm finally done with the pre-Hogwarts part of the story. I've really been looking forward to writing the train ride and their days at Hogwarts. I've come up with some more plots for the story and I've planned out the ending of the year. If I get that far, you guys are in for a shocker. I haven't read a story with what I have planned so far, so hopefully I'll be the first and give everyone a big surprise.
If you didn't notice, I did work in some of the stuff that you said you wanted to see. Cara the Mord Sith, I put in Harry's trip to the fancy store for you. You got your sharp dressing Harry! MaidenMasherV, I gave you your "Ladies man" Harry, and I'm definitely using some of your suggestions in later chapters. Keep an eye out for them. And SmacksKiller, I gave you your Cho scene that you asked for. I hope you like it! I had fun writing it, and I hope it came out as funny as I pictured it in my head.
So many thank you's to everyone who has reviewed. Shout outs to all of ya'll.
And here is the chapter's poll:
1) What did you think of Harry's attitude? Cause I'm planning and upping his rudeness and everything up later in the story.
2) What were your opinions on the whole Harry/Draco (NO SLASH!) thing?
3) Do you have ANY suggestions that you would like to see in future chapters?
4) What are some pairings you would like to see for Harry? (I'll tell you that there'll be a lot.) And, what do you think of Harry sleeping around with girls? Is that too much?
5) What do you think of a Ron/Hermione ship? I'm thinking of having them get together (J.K. has been hinting at it since book four). But trust me, it wont be this major thing, just a sub-plot to bring the two of them away from Harry a little.
6) Is there any interest in having Ethan Black make another appearance? (I was honestly debating on whether I should revamp my whole story and have Harry return to Hogwarts disguised as Ethan and become a Slytherin and everything, but I like my original plans too much. Maybe an AU fic to this one after I'm done? Or anyone else is free to write one if they want.)
7) How would you like the new Dueling teacher to be? Male? Stern? Young? An original character? Or a character we already know? What about the DADA teacher? I don't have them planned yet, so I need ideas!
Anything else you want to comment on is welcomed. I'm lovin your guys' reviews. Keep em coming. And you guys know that I really take your comments to heart and do my best to include your ideas into the story, so definitely leave me a note on your opinions. And I felt bad about the long wait, so this is a LONG chapter. 13 pages at least. And the next one wont be coming out for awhile cause I need to cram in all my winter break homework cause I haven't done any yet. But I'll try to write as much as possible so I can get another chapter out. If you want me to email you when I update this again, just say so with your email address in your review so I don't gotta go to everyone's author page and copy your addresses. OK? And to Mark Evans, don't worry buddy, I'm gonna email you right after I upload the chapter. So I think that's it! Now I'm off to answer the reviews that were posted after I uploaded the review page thingy. See ya next chapter!
-gotta B writin
imjustryintokeepitreal@yahoo.com
P.S.- someone mentioned that ff.net isn't allowing people to have a chapter just for review responses. Is that true? And if it is, will I lose my story? Should I be saving my chapters just in case? HELP ME OUT HERE!!! I'll die if I lose my story. I've put a lot of time into it and I don't wanna lose it.
