AN: WOWSERS!!!!! (hehehe, Inspector Gadget line. . .) I HAVE NEARLY 100 REVIEWS!!!!! FOR JUST THREE CHAPTERS!!!! THIS ROCKS!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway, thanks very much to all my lovely reviewers, including my best friend in the whole world, ANIMAEGURL!!!!!
And, I am SOOOOOO sorry for taking so long to update. I was in a production last weekend that took up a lot of my time, so I haven't really had a chance to write this at all.
And, ALL of you are wondering where Draco is. DO NOT FEAR!!! He comes LATER. This is a SLOW moving Romance. I'm trying to make it realistic. Maybe he'll come in chapter 5 or 6.
Now, select SHOUT-OUTS!!!
Maggy A. - you said that Harry and Hermione were in the muggle section of town, so how could the Leaky Cauldron be there? I think you need to re-read book 1. It PLAINLY says, and I quote: "It was a tiny, grubby looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it [The Leaky Cauldron] out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it . . .In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it . . ." (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, page 68) Notice that they are in a muggle section of town, as the paragraph previous says that they passed "bookshops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas but no where that looked like you could buy a magic wand . . ." That clear it up for you? Also, i forgot which story you were reviewing! blushes I don't know HOW some authors can have, like, 25 stories: i have enought trouble keeping track of 3!
Fleur - you corrected me on the fact that there is "no date" in the HP books. Thank you for doing that, now I feel really foolish. But, Sir Nick's 500th death day is a HUGE typo, if any of you have noticed. Because, in the first book, at the welcoming feast, Sir Nicholas has this conversation with Harry:
"'That does look good,' said the ghost [Sir Nicholas], watching Harry cut up his steak.
'Can't you—?' [said Harry]
'I haven't eaten for nearly four-hundred years,' said the ghost."
Notice that Nick says FOUR hundred years, not FIVE hundred, as it is explained in the second book. (I should be an editor when I grow up )
bluestar - thank you SOOOO much for the lyrics to "Me and Emily". Although this STILL isn't a song-fic (because I don't like them very much), I do appreciate having the lyrics, so now I know all the words for when it comes on the radio!
You Worst Nightmare 13 - HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY!!!!
NeLLy22 - I appreciate your review, but you scare me . . .
Disclaimer: I own nothing except 11 dollars and anything that MY money has bought. (Too much to list here . . .)
And NOW, the chapter . . .
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Chapter 3: The Leaky Cauldron
Hermione looked at Harry with new appreciation.
"I'd never thought of that, Harry! The Leaky Cauldron is the perfect place to stay!" she said.
"I thought so," said Harry. Hermione got out of the car, and Harry followed. He helped her take her luggage out of the trunk, and he carried the large suitcase while she carried Emily and the smaller suitcase, and then walked into the pub.
"Mr. Potter! Miss Granger!" said Tom, with his typical toothless grin.
"Hello, Tom," said Harry. "We'll be needing two rooms for a while, please?" he asked.
"Certainly," said the barkeeper, coming out from behind the bar and leading them up the staircase. He directed Harry into one room and Hermione into another room across the hall from his. "Will you two be needing anything? Tea? Rolls? Muffins?" asked Tom.
"No thanks," said Hermione, at the same time that Harry said, "Yes, tea would be nice." Tom just smiled and said, "Okay, Mr. Potter, I will be right back up with a cup of tea for you."
"Harry?" said Hermione, once Tom had disappeared down the stairs.
"Yes?" he asked, stepping into the doorway of his room.
"Umm, I noticed that you didn't have any extra robes or clothes or anything, will you be alright?" she asked tentatively.
"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine. I'm supposed to go shopping for a new "muggle" wardrobe tomorrow," he replied.
"Oh, ok. So I guess you were just put on this 'experiment' today?"
"Yeah, actually. It's rather confusing. I'm technically 'breaking the rules' of the experiment by staying here, since it's for wizards, so I'll need to get a place to stay as soon as possible. Um, do you have any ideas of any muggle places where I could stay for a year?" he asked.
"A whole year?!" exclaimed Hermione.
"Yeah, a whole year. I'm not exactly looking forward to it."
"Well, anyway, yes, I do know where you could stay. There's an apartment complex right down the street from here. You could rent one of those for a year," suggested Hermione.
"Uh, sure. You'll just have to explain to me what an apartment complex is tomorrow, then, because I want to get some sleep," said Harry.
"Me too. Night, Harry."
"Night."
{AN: Okay, that was so cheesy it's not even funny . . . moving on . . .}
---------------------The next morning--------------------
Hermione woke up to sunlight streaming through the open window in her room. She looked at the clock on her bedside table and saw that it was 8:00 in the morning. {Omg, this is sooooooo crappy sounding . . .} As she sleepily got out of bed, she started thinking of her plans for the day. 'Hmmmmmmm, I need to go to Diagon Alley to get myself some new robes, since I don't have any anymore, I'm supposed to be helping Harry get an apartment, what else?' The day seemed strangely empty. As she got herself looking presentable, she started thinking about last night's events. Feeding Emily, Jim acting like an idiot, Jim hit me twice, I stunned him, I ran away, but I didn't know where to go because I didn't have any money - She stopped mid-thought. 'Money! That's it! I need to have wizard money! Which means that I'll need to get a job . . .' All of a sudden, her "empty" day seemed packed. Where could she get a job that paid Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts? As she pondered this, she finished getting ready and went downstairs for breakfast. There was no one there besides Tom. She supposed 8:30 was too early for breakfast for the rest of the magical community. She sat down at the bar and was greeted by Tom's toothless, but warm, grin.
"G'morning, Miss Granger, what can I get for you?"
"Please, Tom, call me Hermione, and what do you have?"
"Oh just about any breakfast food you can imagine: eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausage, bacon, potatoes, just about every fruit you could want, the list goes on and on, Hermione.
"Well, then, how about a bowl of mixed fruit, please?"
"Which fruits would you like?"
"Hmmm, I think apples, grapes, peaches, bananas, and pineapples will do just fine, thanks."
"Coming right up!" said Tom, and he disappeared into the back of the kitchen somewhere. Hermione barely had time to wonder what to do while he was gone when Harry came down the steps.
"Morning, Hermione!" he said brightly.
"Morning Harry. I've never known you to be a morning person, but you sure are bright and cheery this morning!"
"Oh, I'm just excited."
"About what?" asked Hermione.
"This experiment thing."
"But I thought you were dreading it? You said so yourself last night!"
"I know I did, but I've been thinking about it, and seems kinda fun. It's like getting a new life: I can start fresh, for a year anyway," he replied.
"Well, that's one way to look at it, I suppose."
"I mean, really, I get to have my own house, er, 'apartment', as you call it, I can have a job of my choosing, and I'm doing it for the Ministry of Magic's benefit," he continued. Hermione couldn't answer, however, because Tom returned then with her fruit.
"Here you go, Hermione," he said.
"Thank you, Tom," she replied, as she took the bowl and fork from him and started to eat. She only just realized how hungry she was.
"Anything I can get you, Mr. Potter?" she heard Tom ask Harry.
"Sure, Tom. How about a couple of pancakes?" he answered.
"Certainly, Mr. Potter. Any preferences as to what you want on them?"
"Just butter and maple syrup, please," replied Harry. Tom disappeared into the kitchen again.
"So, Hermione," said Harry, "Where do we start?"
"For getting your apartment?"
"Yeah."
"Well, the first thing we have to do is go into Diagon Alley so we can exchange some of the money from your vault for muggle money," stated Hermione.
"Sorry, Hermione, no can do," said Harry. "I'm not allowed to go into any wizard place. As it is, I'm already breaking that rule by being in here. If I went into Diagon Alley, they'd make me apparate back to the Ministry and put someone else on the experiment."
"Oh. Well, am I allowed to go into Diagon Alley to exchange some of your money for you?" asked Hermione.
"I don't think there is a rule against that," said Harry.
"Well, then, I'll exchange some of your money for you, and then we'll go to the apartment complex and find out how much a month the rent is for 12 months. Then we'll get you a key to your apartment, and you can move in!" said Hermione matter-of-factly.
"It's that easy?" said Harry, astonished.
"Well, there's the matter of paying your bills each month after you move in, and there's the fact of getting a job . . ." Hermione trailed off. That was exactly what she needed to do: get a job.
"Wow. This sounds like a lot of work. I hope I can handle it," said Harry uncertainly.
"Don't worry, Harry. I'll help you out if you need me to," said Hermione comfortingly. {AN: You all are probably hating me right about now . . .I KNOW I'm showing way too much Harry-Hermione stuff, but please, DON'T WORRY! Draco WILL come in!}
"Thanks, Hermione. I'm feeling better already!" said Harry as Tom came back with his pancakes.
---After Breakfast---
"Okay, Harry. I'm going to go upstairs and tend to Emily real quick, and then we can be on our way," said Hermione as she went up the stairs. Emily was in her bassinet, playing with her blanket.
"Oh, you are so adorable!" said Hermione for what must have been the millionth time since she'd had Emily. Hermione got out a bottle of formula, warmed it with magic, and started feeding Emily. After about 10 minutes, Emily had finished the bottle and was getting sleepy, so Hermione laid her in the bassinet. She was about to leave the room when something – a feeling – held her back. She couldn't just leave Emily there, unattended, for several hours! She would have to take her with her and Harry. Although she could be burdensome, what other choice did Hermione have? So she picked up Emily's bassinet and brought it downstairs with her.
"I didn't know we were taking Emily," said Harry. He didn't sound angry or disappointed, just slightly confused.
"We weren't going to, originally, but how can I just leave her here?" said Hermione.
"It's fine with me, 'Mione," said Harry. They then walked out to Hermione's car. Emily was put in the backseat; Harry sat in the passenger seat, and Hermione got in on the driver's side. Neither of them said anything on the way to the apartment complex, which was only about 3 miles away.
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AN: Okay, I don't feel like writing all the details of Harry buying his apartment, so I'm going to leave it off here and then the next chapter will be AFTER Harry has bought the apartment and Hermione is back at the Leaky Cauldron, okay? Okay. So, you know what to do: REVIEW!!!