Feeling Awkward Yet
Chapter Four: Cloaks and Diagon Alley
A/N: I own nothing. I wish I did. I am not talented enough (now watch me get a book award).
0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0
Harry wasn't sure how long he held his father's cloak in his hands. He almost wouldn't let Sirius take it from him when the older wizard said he would make sure it was safe with him when they Flooed home. Sirius had given it back to him right away when they were at Arabella's. Harry was almost afraid to even touch it; it looked so fragile being so silvery. But Sirius had tried to convince him that the cloak had been worn a lot and wasn't about to be torn.
Harry had been so happy to see one of his parents' old things; it was nerve-racking.
"Harry," said Remus after a couple hours watching the boy cradle the cloak. "If you think that cloak is that precious, I'll give you some of the photographs of your parents."
Harry looked up at him. "You would really do that?" he asked, excitedly.
Remus rolled his eyes. "They're only photos, for Merlin's sake!"
"Well, I don't know what they look like," said Harry.
And Sirius chose that moment to burst into the room. "Who looks like what?" he asked, breathlessly.
"James and Lily," said Remus, reprovingly. "Harry has never seen them."
Sirius looked outraged. "Well then we have to get him pictures right now!" Remus pulled the man onto the couch.
"Harry can wait until tomorrow," he said.
"Why?" said Sirius and Harry in unison.
"Think about it Padfoot," Moony said, standing up and walking out of the room.
Sirius then watched Harry once more fiddle with the Invisibility Cloak. After seconds ticked by, Sirius finally said, "Will you cut that out?"
Harry looked at him with frightened eyes and set the cloak down.
"Oh, I didn't mean it," Sirius apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out like that."
Harry glanced at him and nodded.
The man stood and held out his hand. "I have some pictures of your parents in my room. Come on."
Harry took his hand and followed Sirius upstairs to a very white room. He almost had to squint it was so bright. Sirius looked at him and said, "I know. Imagine trying to get to sleep."
He opened a very large trunk at the foot of his bed. It was filled with a lot of things that Harry had never seen before. Sirius dug to the bottom and pulled out a little book.
"Here's a book that Remus gave me after the trial. It's filled with pictures of your parents," said Sirius, handing the album to Harry who opened it right away.
The first was a picture of what Harry suspected, all of the Marauders. Three boys looked like they were yelling at two people kissing deeply. Harry gulped. His mum and dad.
"Yeah," said Sirius, rubbing the back of his neck. "Remus, Wormtail, and I got really angry in the picture at James and Lily who just started snogging in the middle of our Hogwarts photo."
Harry looked at him. "Why?" he asked, watching his parents kiss.
"Harry," said Sirius. "Every couple has their own way of expressing love, and your parents…are…or were…" it seemed as if he was trying to find the right words, "very…eccentric about it."
Harry thought for a moment then said, "Oh, I understand. Don't say any more." He grinned and flipped the page. The next photo involved his mother and father sitting by a large lake under a beech tree.
"I took that one. James would have killed me if I showed him it. Well, he didn't even know I took it," said Sirius.
Harry flipped again. It was a wedding. His mother was decked in white with her arm around James' and Sirius was next to him, laughing.
"Peter took that one," a voice said from behind. Harry and Sirius jumped. "It was probably the first time he ever took a decent picture," said Remus, scornfully.
Sirius snapped the book shut and put it back in his trunk. "I guess that's enough for today, I suppose," he said.
Harry looked at him, but Sirius kept his eyes from his. Remus seemed to noticed this too and said to Harry, "Arabella's making dinner."
Harry followed Remus out of the room, but hesitated to look back at Sirius, who was facing the window.
He walked downstairs and into the kitchen, where Arabella was setting the table. "Hello, Harry," she said.
Harry waved a hand in acknowledgment. He saw Remus whisper something in her ear and she said, "Oh, poor man."
A creak on the foot of the stairs told Harry that his godfather was coming down the stairs.
Harry took his seat at the table. As Arabella and Remus took their own seats, Sirius burst into the room.
His face was not at all how Harry had imagined it would be. Instead of a tearstained appearance, he wore a goofy grin. Remus and Arabella looked just as confused as Harry did.
Sirius sat down next to his godson and they all began to eat it silence.
It was a very awkward silence. Harry kept shooting glances in Sirius's direction, Remus held Arabella's hand under the table, and Sirius wouldn't look at anything but his fork and food.
Then, finally, Sirius looked at all of them. "What?" he asked.
No one answered.
He frowned. "You know what?" he asked, looking at Remus and Arabella. Harry stared at his lap.
They shook their heads.
"I'm fine," said Sirius. "I don't need your sympathy right now. James and Lily have been gone for years. I am over that they aren't coming back. So can we please get on with the future?"
"Yeah," agreed Harry.
The other two adults were silent for a moment, and then nodded.
"Okay," said Sirius. Then he clapped his hands. "Who's up to dessert?"
Remus groaned. "In all honesty, the first thing you think about is food! Well, make that second, Harry comes in first."
Sirius grinned at him. "It's true, Moony mate."
At the sound of the nickname, Remus paled. Harry could just barely make out what he mouthed to Sirius. Full moon. Maybe Sirius hadn't been lying after all; maybe Remus really was a werewolf. But that didn't change Harry's opinion of him. Remus was still the kind and considerate man he knew.
"It's all right, Remus, I know," said Harry.
Arabella looked at him awkwardly. "Know what?" she asked.
Sirius nudged Harry with his foot under the table. A look in his eye told the boy that Arabella didn't know that Remus was a werewolf.
Harry sighed. "I know that Remus really likes you a lot and thinks you should go out together sometime," he covered, lying. Before anyone could react, Harry scuttled from his chair and ran as fast as he could from the table, until (of course) Sirius caught him around the middle and pulled him back.
"Harry—" he started.
"Remus?" said Arabella. "Do you really feel that way about me?" Her face was positively growing crimson. "Because I actually," she blushed an even deeper red, "feel that way about you."
If Arabella was red, Remus was maroon. And sheepishly, he nodded.
With a flick of his wand, Sirius made the dishes and the food disappear. He walked with Harry out of the kitchen where they left the other two to themselves.
2AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA5
Harry and Sirius stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in.
"Why, bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Sirius Black and…Harry Potter…what an honor."
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."
Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Sirius groaned.
Then there was the scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, I can't believe I'm meeting you at last."
"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."
"Always wanted to shake your hand–I'm all a flutter."
"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name. Dedalus Diggle."
"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."
"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!"
Harry shook hands again and again—Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.
A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. A one of his eyes were twitching.
"Quirrell, eh?" said Sirius, eyeing the man. "Hufflepuff, right?"
The man, Quirrell looked at him, rather shakily. "S-s-soon t-to be P-P-Professor," stammered Quirrell. "P-P-Potter, c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."
"What sort of magic will you teach, Professor Quirrell?" said Harry.
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously.
But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Sirius managed to make himself heard over the babble.
"Must get on—a lot to do. Come on, Harry."
Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Sirius led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.
Sirius grinned at Harry.
"Well, now you know how famous you are," he said sheepishly.
"And I thought you were joking. What was with Professor Quirrell?"
"Quirrell? I don't know much, but I heard from an unreliable source that he met vampires in the Black Forest, and a bit of trouble with a hag. I personally don't believe it. Where's my wand?"
Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Sirius, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trashcan.
"Three up…two across…" he muttered. "Right, I think, haven't done this in years. Stand back, Harry."
He tapped the wall three times with his wand.
The brick he had touched quivered—it wriggled—in the middle, a small hole appeared—it grew wider and wider—a second later they were facing an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Harry," said Sirius.
He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his should and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons—All Sizes—Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver—Self-Stirring—Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.
"Come on," said Sirius, "we need to get your money."
Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once; the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, "Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium—Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys Harry's about age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand—came out yesterday—fastest ever—"
There were shops selling robes, telescopes, and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before.
"Gringotts," said Sirius.
They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was—
"Is that a goblin?" Harry whispered in Sirius's ear.
"Yeah," he answered quietly.
The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard, and Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them.
Enter, stranger, but take headOf what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Sirius hadn't seemed to notice the words because he pulled on Harry's arm through the doors as a pair of goblins bowed to them into a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Sirius and Harry made for the counter.
"Hello," said Sirius to a free goblin. "I want to take some money from the Black and Potter safes."
"Keys?"
"Yup," said Sirius, pulling two tiny keys from his pocket. Harry watched a goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coal.
The goblin looked at the keys closely.
"That seems to be in order. I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
Griphook was yet another goblin. Sirius and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.
Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had been expecting more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in and were off.
At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.
Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed passed the, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late—they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.
"I never know," Harry called to Sirius over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose I've never really thought about."
At last, the cart stopped beside a small door in the passage wall. Sirius helped Harry out of the cart.
Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little from Knuts.
"This is all yours," said Sirius.
"Mine?" Harry choked out.
All Harry's—it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London.
Sirius helped Harry pile some of it into a bag.
"I explained the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts, right?" said Sirius.
Harry nodded.
"Good. The Black vault now," Sirius told Griphook.
They were going back a little further, until they stopped. Griphook unlocked the door once again. Harry's eyes widened at the sight. There was more of everything in Sirius's vault.
The man grinned at him. "Having a dead pureblood family does come in handy sometimes. And this doesn't include the very small fortune that my Uncle Alphard left me before he died."
One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money that he'd had in his whole life—more money that even Dudley ever had.
"Let's get you some robes," Sirius said, eyeing Harry's very baggy and large clothes. He nodded towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, I need to do something quick, you wouldn't mind being in there alone for a little bit, would you?"
Harry smiled and entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.
Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.
"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here—another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."
"Actually, I just wanted some regular robes," said Harry.
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.
"Hello," said the boy, "Casual wear, too?"
"Yes," said Harry.
"My father's with my mother up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."
Harry was reminded strongly of Dudley.
"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.
"No," said Harry.
"Play Quidditch at all?"
"I will soon," Harry said, remembering Sirius's stories about his Quidditch days.
"I do—Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in?"
"I think probably Gryffindor. Both my parents and their friends were in that House," said Harry.
"Oh, well, I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been—I mean—I guess Gryffindor's better than Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave if I was sorted there, wouldn't you?"
"Mmm," said Harry.
"Look," said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Sirius walking towards the shop. "Sirius Black," said the boy with disgust.
"What?" said Harry.
"Well, he's a blood-traitor," said the boy.
"No he's not. He's my godfather," Harry argued.
The boy looked somewhat taken aback. "You're Harry Potter?" he asked. "Draco Malfoy. I should warn you not to make friends with other blood-traitors like Black."
Before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "You're done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to Draco Malfoy, hopped down from the footstool.
"Hey Harry," said Sirius, walking in. He nearly tumbled over when a couple walked in after him.
"Why, Narcissa, isn't that your blood-traitor cousin?" the man with long blond hair asked his wife.
The woman scowled at Sirius. "No, he's not. My aunt blasted him out of the family after he ran away," she said, pushing past him.
Harry could see Sirius clench and unclench his fingers. "It's not like I would have wanted to stay in your family, cousin." He spat out the word cousin with disgust.
"Still friends with that half-breed?" asked the woman. These were definitely Draco Malfoy's parents.
Harry moved next to Sirius. "He is not a half-breed," said Sirius.
"Whatever you say, cousin," Narcissa Malfoy said. "Ah, Draco."
"Come on, Harry," said Sirius, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"But I have to pay for my—" Harry started.
"Forget it. We're leaving."
They turned to go, but Draco Malfoy's father said one last thing to say, "Have fun, blood-traitor, with the son of a mudblood."
Sirius shot a nasty look at Mr. Malfoy and steered Harry from the shop with a tight hand on his shoulder.
"What was that about?" said Harry as they walked.
Sirius didn't answer the question, instead he said, "Stay away from Draco Malfoy, Harry. The Malfoys are nothing but trouble."
"Oh," said Harry. They stopped at a place called Florean Forescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
They sat at a table outside. "D'you like Diagon Alley so far?" asked Sirius.
Harry nodded. He was about to say something when three redheads caught his attention.
"Now you two stay with me," said the plump woman to her two children. "You're almost as bad as Fred and George!"
"Really, mum, we're old enough to be in Diagon Alley alone," said the boy who looked to be about Harry's age.
"Old enough! Ginny, stay with me, please," said the woman.
They walked towards Florean Forescue's.
"Molly Weasley," Sirius said to the woman.
She faced him and a smile lit her face. "Sirius Black," she said. They shook hands.
"I remember you briefly in the, you know," said Sirius. Harry wondered what he was talking about. The children were obviously wondering the same thing, because they looked at mother questioningly.
"Who is this?" asked Molly Weasley, indicating Harry.
Sirius grinned. "My godson, Harry Potter."
Molly Weasley's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"
"Yes," said Sirius.
"Do you remember what You-Know-Who looked like?" asked the boy.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley!" said Mrs. Weasley.
"Do you remember anything?" the girl pressed on.
"No, actually—" Harry started.
"Ronald, Ginevra, I forbid you to ask him such questions!" said Mrs. Weasley. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Harry and Sirius. "We have to go, but it was nice seeing you."
Harry watched as the Weasley's disappeared. "It must be nice to have a sibling," he said.
Sirius snorted. "Sibling? The Weasley's have seven children. The girl is the only daughter of Molly and Arthur."
Harry looked at the ice cream in his hand. "Even so, it might be—" But a sharp pain shot across the scar on his forehead.
"What's wrong?" asked Sirius sharply.
"My scar," Harry said as the pain vanished. "It's never done that before."
0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0i0
Oooo, cliffhanger…not really. I have decided to make my chapters longer and better. Ranging from 3,000 words to 5,000. Tell me if this is a good idea.
Okay, my sister and I have stated our favorite characters, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black (Lauren is R.L. and I am SB). If you tell me in a review who your favorite HP character is, I'll see what I can do in the story.
I am thinking about adding Tonks to FAY (Feeling Awkward Yet). She's one of my favorites also, and I am planning on Harry and Sirius meeting Hermione sometime else besides the Hogwarts Express. Hmmm……
Well…TTYL (talk to you later!)
-Nelka-
Hey! And I big thanks to Kate the Tigeress (whom I apologize to because I had said that no one had reviewed since I revised this fic), unknown, and sentinel-witch (whom reviewed twice). I love you kind of people.