Disclaimer: Not a single wonderful character or place is mine. Notta. Nothin. Zilch. Zero - hm…zero…also happens to be the amount of money I have *hint-hint to lawyers*
A/N: @.@ I feel so loved….thank you all for your reviews. To me, it's a lot in so short a time. I did hurry with this chappie too! I swear!
Gone Over
Chapter Two: Only A Little Farther
~*~
Harry turned his head as he heard another car coming. Turning around, he started walking backwards with his arm sticking out, holding up his thumb. The car kept speeding by.
"D*mn muggles." he muttered under his breath.
He'd been trying to get a ride for the past three days, but not a single person had stopped. Harry hadn't even been able to get a decent place to sleep, not that the cupboard under the stairs could have ever been considered decent. He had found that he needed to resort to stealing in order to live, as he had no muggle money, and wizard money would be too easy to trace. Although he found that he preferred the term thieving, as stealing sounded so derogatory. Thieving had a somewhat mystic sound to it. Harry snorted. He sounded like a fantasy-loving muggle. The sound of another car coming reached his ears and he turned around and stuck his thumb out like he had so many times before.
Thankfully, this person stopped.
The vehicle was a truck, and an old one at that. It was an American Ford Pickup, or at least that's what Harry thought they were called. He had never really been allowed to watch TV and cars had never held a large part of his interest. Racing brooms, on the other hand…
It was a faded red colour, so it seemed as if it was a truck drawn on a side walk and filled in with red side-walk chalk. There was some old fishing gear in the back, a few boxes of bait, some poles, and the stench of fish was clear. A little too clear in Harry's mind. In the front seat was a kindly-looking old man, smiling politely at him. He had hair almost as white as Dumbledore's, expect for on the top, where he was bald. He wasn't all that wrinkled except for where his smile lines were.
He must have led a good life, to have so many smile-lines.
"I sooppose yoo need a ride then, don't yoo laddie." commented the old man in a heavy Scottish accent. Harry had only just understood his words. He nodded silently.
"Well then, laddie, go aroond and hop in!"
Smiling gratefully, Harry walked around to the other side of the car and got in. After revving up the engine a bit, the old man pulled back onto the road and began his drive once again.
"Heh, it may noot be much, but she get's me where I need too be." commented the old man, patting the dashboard of the old truck. Harry just smiled nervously and made a non-commital sound. He wasn't entirely sure how he was supposed to act, as he had never been in this type of a situation before. They rode in a sort of awkward silence for a few minutes, pretending to admire the scenery going by.
"Soo, ah, doo yoo, um, hitch hike often aroond here?" asked the old Scot. Harry simply shook his head. He didn't feel like talking much at the moment.
"Oh, me name's Brian McDougal, laddie. Pleased too meet yoor acquaintance." Brian said, nodding towards Harry as a gesture of greeting as both his hands where on the steering wheel.
"Pleased to meet you too." Harry replied back, when he realized he had to give the old man, Brian, a name as well. He couldn't possibly give his real one, and Majesty Raethorp would be noticeably odd. Rushing his thoughts, Harry blurted out, "I'm James Evans." while inwardly cringing at, what was to him, stupidity at picking a name that to him had obvious connections with the name Harry Potter. This time it was Brian's turn to make a non-commital sound. They rode in a semi-comfortable, semi-awkward silence for a while. After a while, Harry had apparently lost track of the time, again, Brian spoke up.
"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that." Harry said, snapping out his reverie. Brian chuckled.
"It's quite alright laddie. I was just asking yoo where yoo want too be dropped off. No offence, but I can't exactly have yoo riding with me foorever."
"Oh, right. Um, London, please. I'm headed to London." Harry wasn't entirely sure why he picked London of all places, close as it was to the Ministry of Magic, but as he thought about it, it would be a brilliant place to hide out. He would be close enough to the wizarding world to be able to keep a tab on what's going on and if he learned anything in the wizarding world, other than never piss of a Potions Master, it was that the Ministry would have the worst trouble catching something if it was right under their noses.
*~*
"James, James! Wake up, laddie! We're in London!" exclaimed Brian, shaking Harry's shoulder. Waking up groggily, Harry sat up and fixed his glasses while looking around. When he looked to his right his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He was about to ask Brian what the magnificent building before him was, but Brian answered before he could even form any words.
"That there is Buckingham Palace yoo're looking at James. The home of the British royal family it is. Doo yoo think yoo can find yoo're way from here?"
"Yes. Yes I can. Thank you very much, sir!" Harry exclaimed, quickly getting out of the car before he could feel guilty about not repaying the old Scot for his kindness. The old man grinned kindly at Harry.
"It's alright, laddie." he said knowingly, then he drove off around a corner. Harry stood staring after him on the corner, then turned his head to look at the massive Buckingham Palace.
"Wish I could have lived there." he muttered. Looking around, he wondered where he should go. He couldn't possibly go to the Leaky Cauldron, he would be recognized instantly.
"Maps! Maps for sale! Maps of good ol' London, right 'ere!" called a man down the sidewalk on Harry's left. He turned his head towards the shouting man.
"'Ello L'ttle Lady! 'Ow would you like to own a map of London, eh? Shows you all the great sites, it does! And the best places to stay! 'Ow about a map for you sir! Would you like a map of London, sir?" The Map Merchant, as Harry decided to call him, was talking to everyone he could see, and then some. Harry really needed a map, but he had not money for it. Well, not the right kind of money.
But there was one other way…
If he could just….and then maybe…yes, it could work. It had a good deal of working. London was a busy city so there were a lot of people who might see, but there were almost all muggles so the chances of his getting caught were very slim.
Now to put it in action.
Casually, yet speedily so he could be on the pretense of rushing, he walked toward the Map Merchant. Currently the Map Merchant had his back to him, which is just where Harry needed him to be. The closer he got the louder the Map Merchant got, and the more nervous Harry became. It was one thing to thieve from a small town store, but quite another to thieve right in front of Buckingham Palace in front of all the Royal Guard.
Harry reached his prechosen point and 'accidentally' bumped into the Map Merchant, quickly grabbing a map of London and stuffing it down the baggy pockets of his baggy pants.
"Sorry, mate, must've tripped over a crack or something." he said the Map Merchant.
"That's quite alright, sir! 'Ere! 'Ow would you like to buy a magnificent map of London!" the Map Merchant exclaimed, trying to sell Harry a map he already had, although the Map Merchant didn't know that.
"That's ok, I've got to be on me way! Bye!" Harry called while quickly walking away.
Bye? Why in the name of Merlin did I say bye?
Harry could still here the loud voice of the vender as he crossed the street and rounded the corner away from Buckingham Palace. After walking a few blocks away, he ducked into an alleyway, he opened the map and tried to get a grasp of where he was. Finding where he was he looked for where the Leaky Cauldron was. Harry sighed.
He needed money.
The only money he had was wizarding money, which did him no good in the muggle world.
He would have to somehow sneak into the Leaky Cauldron, without being recognized, walk around Diagon Alley, without being recognized, walk into Gringotts, without being recognized, and somehow get to his vault, open it, get money, and get half of it exchanged into muggle money. All this without being recognized and caught.
D*mm*t, why do I have to be some d*mn recognizable in the d*mn wizarding world.
Harry was thinking bitter thoughts, cursing the Daily Prophet for printing his face so many times, cursing the text books for printing his name, and cursing Voldemort for being the cause.
And then he heard the tinkling of a bell, like when you walk into a store and the opening of the door sets of the bells.
Actually, it was a door.
It was the door of the convenient store across the street. It had three giant, glowing red letters on it that read CVS.
Sounds American.
Stuffing the map back into his pocket, he stared at the store, trying to think of what he could do. It was a convenient store, so it would probably have a number of helpful things. A red double-decker bus drove by with an ad for some skin makeup on its side.
Makeup.
It would be, well, degrading, seeing as he was fully male, but he would never return to the Dursleys.
Never. Not ever.
And if it took makeup, then it took makeup.
I'll be d*mned if I start walking around dressed like a woman. I'll just buy, er, thieve, that skin stuff that was on that ad.
Making his decision, Harry crossed the street and walked into the American store. Looking down the isles, he found the makeup section. He walked slowly down it, amazed that women could actually, would actually use it all. He didn't know how they did it.
"May I help you?" asked the young female clerk. She was looking at Harry in an odd way, and the male clerk at the counter was sniggering behind his hand.
"I, er, it's my sister's birthday and she's, uh, turning thirteen and, um, my mum, she suggested makeup." Harry said.
Good one, Harry, good one.
The female clerk looked relieved and turned around to give the male clerk a 'ha' kind of look. Turning back to Harry she asked, "What's you're sister's name?"
"Suzanne." said Harry, naming the first name he thought of.
Suzanne? Where did that come from…
"Suzanne? Really? What a coinkydink! That's my name too!"
Coinkydink?
"Alrighty then! What's her complexion? And her favourite colour. You definitely want to by her something that is her favourite colour." said Suzanne. This was obviously her favourite isle in the store.
"Er, well, we look a lot alike. People are always saying that if she were older we would have been twins. And her favourite colour is blue…and black." Harry added as an afterthought.
"Ah. Well then. Let's see what we've got here." Suzanne started walking down the isle looking between the bottles of cover up and Harry.
What in the name of Godric Gryffindor are those khaki things that she's looking at? I don't think I've ever seen a female where those.
"Okay, I think this colour will go well with you're sister's complexion, providing its just like yours, like you say." Suzanne reached for two bottles of black and blue liquid, "And she'll want these as well. Girls love to do their nails." Suzanne grabbed another something from the bottom shelf, "And all girls love red lipstick." She handed a wide-eyed Harry the makeup.
If this is what she's suggesting for a thirteen year old what would she give a sixteen year old? How do women get dressed in the morning, eat, and put all this crap on!? Women…I'll never understand them…
It was then that Harry noticed that Suzanne was looking at him expectantly.
"Oh. Right. I didn't know women needed all this." he said, making Suzanne laugh.
"It's only because you're a man. Don't bother trying to figure us out, cutie. You never will." she said teasingly.
Cutie? Oh dear Merlin…
"Can I use the bathroom?" Harry asked on a sudden whim of inspiration.
"Yeah, sure. Just go all the way down this isle and make a left. You'll see a door at the end. That's the bathroom."
"Thank you."
"Here, I'll take your stuff up to the counter for you."
Before Harry could even open his mouth to protest the makeup was gone from his hands and Suzanne was walking towards the counter.
D*mn. She wasn't supposed to do that!
Harry walked down the isle, noticing that there boxes of things he didn't recognize and probably didn't want to be able to recognize. Taking the left Suzanne told him to, he saw the bathroom door and walked in, noticing that the door didn't squeak when opened or closed. Turning on the lights he wrinkled his nose.
Somebody hasn't been doing their job lately…
Opening up his book bag, he took out his Invisibility Cloak. He had thought of using it before, but he wasn't sure if it could be detectable in any way when worn. It probably wasn't, but there was also the chance of an Auror on the lookout for him detecting him. Like Mad-Eye Moody, or worse yet, an unknown Death Eater.
Putting an ear at the door, he listened to hear if anyone was walking by. Hearing nothing, he slipped the Invisibility Cloak over him and opened the door a crack to make sure no one was watching. As far a he could see, there was no one. Slipping out, which proved more difficult than usual due to the book bag, he walked silently up to the counter where Suzanne and the male clerk were talking.
"How do you know he didn't lie to you? What if he really is gay?"
"He's not gay, John, he's just buying his little sister a birthday present. Like a good brother. Besides, you're one to talk Mr. I-Like-To-Where-Black-Nail-Polish."
"I said I was sorry for missing you're birthday! I said I was sorry a million times! And there's nothing wrong with wearing black nail polish! Now that pink nail polish you're wearing, now that's a sin."
"And there's nothing wrong with buying your little sister a birthday present, either!"
He's wearing black nail polish? And he's not gay? And I thought the wizarding world had strange cultures in it…
Poising his hands above the counter, Harry quickly slammed them down and shouted, "BANG!"
The two clerks screamed and ducked while Harry rapidly grabbed the khaki stuff Suzanne had picked out and, as an afterthought, grabbed the black nail polish too.
If a muggle man can get away with wearing it, then I guess I could too. And if worse comes to worse, I could use it as ink.
Harry walked over to the door as Suzanne started having hysterics and the 'ghost' that had just done something when the sun glinting off of metal caught his eye.
Glasses.
They were sitting on a counter that had a sign under it that read LOST AND FOUND. There were only two frames. One silver and one gold.
Slytherin and Gryffindor. Trelawney would consider it an omen.
Harry snorted at the thought of the North Tower Fraud. On an impulse, he grabbed those as well. The male clerk, John, had decided to look out the door, as if to try and see the 'ghost' that Suzanne so vehemently believes in now. Seeing his chance, Harry slipped out the door and crossed the street to go back into his alleyway. Once he had hidden himself behind a dumpster, he took off his Invisibility Cloak and swiftly stuffed it back into his book bag. Peeking out from behind the dumpster, he didn't see anyone looking and he walked out and joined the throng of people walking down the sidewalk.
He had been walking for about six blocks in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron when he saw the gas station in front of him. Walking into the front office he asked the attendant if it would be possible for him to use the bathroom, as it was an emergency. After having been given directions, he locked the bathroom door behind him after he had found it. He got the khaki stuff from his book bag and stared at it.
What do women do with this?
Desperate, he tried to recall anything from his memory about the khaki stuff when a commercial he had seen at Mrs. Figg's house that year she had let him watch TV. He remembered watching a beautiful model rub khaki looking lotion on certain spots on her face.
Is that what women use this for? I don't think I ever saw Aunt Petunia with this stuff before.
With a sigh and a shrug of his shouders Harry opened the khaki bottle and poured some on the palm of his hand and smacked the centre of his palm to where his scar was. Removing his hand, he winced as he looked at the mirror.
This is definitely not what it looks like on women.
Taking his other hand, Harry patted the place where his scar is, then decided to try a swirling motion. Eventually, he got it covered enough so it looked like his regular skin. Even though the khaki stuff was all over his forehead instead of just on his scar. He put the khaki bottle back in the book bag and got out the two glasses. Trying on the golden one first, he was a Gryffindor after all, he blinked rapidly and immediately took the glasses off.
It's nice to know someone has worse eyesight than I do.
Putting the golden glasses back in his book bag, he took out the silver frames and put them on. They were just like his, better even, and so he thanked Merlin profusely. Flushing the toilet for effect, he left the bathroom and walked a few more blocks till he came to another alleyway that he knew to be near the Leaky Cauldron. He reversed his jacket and began making his way towards the pub in apprehension.
Merlin above, please let me succeed and I'll never ask for Malfoy to be killed again, I swear.
A/N: Heh, I finally got this chappie out! During the last couple pages CSI was on so it took me longer than it should have. But it's out so now you have to review!!! If you don't review I will die and so will the story. x.x
Thank You's
ADJ: Thank you so muchly for your review!! And don't worry, Harry's not going to be giving up on magic any time soon! Not if I have my way…
Frog: Gah! I can't answer those questions yet!!! That would destroy my whole idea! x.o
Hedwig: Thank you muchly, though I hope I didn't make you're brain hurt. @.@ Mine tends to do that when I concentrate on something for so long! ^^;; I found her majesty parrot too and had to pause for a while because I found it so funny. But then again, I was on a sugar high at the same time….
Skull Bearer: I've made it to someone's favourites already? Wow…I feel loved…
littlegoth: its here its here its here
kateydidnt: Thank you muchly! I feel so loved now…
ER: He's not necessarily running from the magic world. Well, he is…but not forever. I think Harry loves magic too much to cut himself off from it forever, don't you? And that's not a bad idea either….hmm…
ChibiYuffie: hee! Final Fantasy VII kicks! *ahems* just had to say that, sorry. Thank you muchly!
'Mes: I had no idea so many people would review so quickly! @.@ You love me, you really love me! ^_^
Jessy: I wish I could be the next J.K Rowling! Heck, I wish I was J.K Rowling…
Rhiannon Snape: *clamps hands over mouth* will - not - give - secrets!!! Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the name Rhiannon also the name of a Horse Goddess that also went by the name Epona?
Melissa Lupin: Thank you muchly! ^_^
Asellus: Gah!! I can't say what will happen! *clamps hands over mouth and speaks in muffled voice* I'm not saying nothing.
-_-: *pants* working *pants* as fast as *huffs* I can….really…I…swear…
Pinkdevil: I hope I didn't get you in trouble. o.o Please…no sue….