Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any of J.K. Rowlings people, places, items, ect.
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Chapter 5 – An Outing to Remember
The next morning Harry woke up early, as he was used to by then, and ambled down to the kitchen after he got dressed. Mrs. Weasley was the only person there, and she was busy making waffles.
"I think something's going on with Silver upstairs," she told him.
Harry dashed back up the stairs and listened intently. He heard voices coming from down the hall, but no – certainly not – from Sirius' room? He walked down the hallway and paused outside the closed door of Sirius' room. Yes, there were definitely voices in there, and it wasn't Lupin. Harry pushed open the door, ready to raise heck for somebody else being in there, but the sight shocked him. Snape, Dumbledore, and Lupin were all looking down at Sirius' bed, on which lay a soundly sleeping Silver. They all looked up at him when he walked in.
"What's going on?" Harry asked uncertainly.
"Where's Granger?" Snape hissed venomously.
"I don't know – why?" Harry answered.
"Well," Lupin replied, "We all went into the living room this morning to find Silver sleeping on the couch. When we picked her up to take her to her bed she just kept saying, 'Don't take me back – Hermione'. Do you know anything about this, Harry?"
"No," said Harry quietly. He wondered what Hermione had done.
"I do," said a voice from behind him. It was Ginny. All eyes turned to her as she replied.
"Well, Hermione had set down her book on Silver's bed, and so Silver went and gave it to her, and Hermione totally went off. She started yelling about how Silver had stolen her book and her best friends, and Silver burst into tears and left. I didn't realize that she never came back, though." Ginny glanced down at Silver, who began to stir.
Snape looked as if he would personally slay Hermione.
"Severus," Dumbledore said in a warning tone, "You will do nothing."
Snape whirled around in a temper. "Why not?" he demanded.
"Because it is not your place," Dumbledore replied sharply.
Snape still looked as if he would murder Hermione the first chance he got.
"Harry," Dumbledore said, the menace gone from his voice, "I think Silver here would appreciate it if she were allowed to use this bedroom for the remainder of her stay, but if you object, we will surely find elsewhere."
"I don't mind," Harry replied, "As long as everything stays how it is."
Dumbledore smiled in reply.
"Miss Weasley," he said, "Would you and Mr. Potter kindly bring Silver's things to this room without waking Miss Granger?"
Ginny nodded, and Harry followed her out of the room.
"Why doesn't Dumbledore ever use Silver's last name?" he asked. "What is her last name?" he added.
"I don't think she has one," Ginny replied, "She doesn't know who her father is, after all, and she probably doesn't want to use her mother's last name."
"Oh," Harry replied stupidly.
When they brought Silver's trunks back with them, she was stirring once more as the three adults conferred beside her bed.
Her eyes fluttered open and she squinted in protest to the lamplight coming from the stand beside Sirius' bed.
"Where am I?" she asked as she fumbled for the switch on the lamp.
"You are in your new bedroom," Dumbledore replied brightly as they were all plunged into darkness.
"I can't see," Ginny said faintly.
Silver turned the lamp to a lower setting as she sat up.
"This is Sirius' old bedroom," Lupin explained to her, "And it's yours, as long as you don't remodel."
Silver looked around the room. "Wow, Harry," she said softly.
Harry blushed as he realized that all of his pictures were gaping, lovestruck, at her.
Snape had a coughing fit as everyone's eyes landed on the picture of Harry on his broomstick. He was hanging upside down off his broom and waving stupidly, looking as though someone had just stunned him.
Silver gave Snape a reproachful look, and he put on a suspiciously straight face.
Then her eyes landed on the picture of Sirius, Lupin, and Harry's father and mother. She reached out for it, and when her fingertips touched it she withdrew slightly, but then she picked it up and gazed at it, awestruck, for a moment. She looked up at Harry and then back down at the picture.
"Wow, Harry," she said again. Harry blushed once more and walked up behind her to look at the picture. His father was extending his hand with mock formality, and his mother was beaming and waving at her. Sirius spotted Harry and gave him exaggerated winks along with head motions towards Silver, and Lupin was smiling and nodding. Harry blushed as Sirius pointed to Silver and nodded his head frantically at Harry, winking the entire time. Silver giggled as his father followed suit, but his mother elbowed him and he stopped and simply beamed at Harry. Harry grinned at Silver, who was looking at him with a slight blush.
"That one's my favorite," he said, smiling fondly at the picture.
"I kinda like the one of you on your broomstick," she teased.
At this Harry felt his face go a wonderful shade of red. He glanced at her and felt their eyes lock, something they often seemed to do. Silver didn't block him out so much this time, and he readily opened himself up for her. He caught a flicker of trust in her otherwise uncertain eyes as she gazed at him.
"Well, let's go now so Silver can get ready for breakfast," Lupin suggested after a while.
Harry reluctantly looked away from her and trudged toward the door. He had a crazy desire to say something stupid like, "See you downstairs," but Lupin pushed him firmly out the door.
Snape pushed past them and went downstairs, looking at Harry with extreme dislike as he passed.
"Watch it around Snape, Harry," Lupin muttered.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Well you two can't just goggle at each other in front of him," Lupin said exasperatedly, "In case you haven't noticed, he's just a tad bit protective of her."
"At each other?" Harry repeated excitedly, "She was goggling at me, too?"
Lupin rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Come on," he said, changing the subject, "Molly's making waffles."
Harry followed him with a grin that he couldn't wipe.
After sitting and receiving many loathing looks from Snape but still grinning, Ron and Hermione came down. Harry wondered why they always seemed to arrive together. Soon everyone was downstairs but Silver.
"What's taking her so long?" Harry asked, echoing what Snape had been muttering since Mrs. Weasley served him.
"I don't know," Mrs. Weasley said, "I'll go check."
Snape looked as if he would much rather go check himself, but he didn't protest. Mrs. Weasley returned with a smile on her face.
"She's very excited about going into town today," she informed them, "Did you know the only place she's ever been other than that dratted house of hers is Knockturn Alley?"
Murmurs spread around the table. Harry had been to Knockturn Alley once, and he didn't feel any desire to go back. It was an alley devoted completely to the Dark Arts, and the wizards and witches that shopped there didn't look pleasant at all.
"So why isn't she coming downstairs?" Snape asked.
"She's getting ready," Mrs. Weasley replied cryptically.
Snape didn't look satisfied at her answer, and he muttered to himself as he took another bite of his waffle.
A few minutes later, Dumbledore looked up and said approvingly, "Ah, Silver, may I say, you look positively radiant today."
Harry turned to look at a blushing but beautiful Silver. She had curled her hair into largish ringlets, and put a sparkly pink hairpin on one side. She wore a pink spaghetti strap shirt which Harry rather liked for no particular reason, and white pants. Tied around her hips was a pink polka- dotted white scarf, and a tiny silver locket hung around her neck.
"Thank you," she replied to Dumbledore as she scanned the table for a seat. Harry felt extremely lucky that the only empty seats were the ones across and next to him. Smiling at him, she took a seat across from him and next to Ginny. Harry gaped openly. How could she be more beautiful?
"Trying to catch flies with your mouth, Potter?" Snape sneered from down the table.
Harry glared at him and Snape smirked back at him.
With a reproving look in Snape's direction, Silver announced, "I think Harry looks very nice today."
Harry blushed furiously and attempted to mumble a thank you. She simply beamed at him. Snape looked scandalized. After breakfast there was a general scramble for jackets, shoes, and lost letters. Finally, everyone was standing by the door except for Silver.
"Almost ready?" Lupin called up.
"Almost!" came the reply.
Harry grinned as she came running down the stairs holding two jackets in her hand. One was plain white with a hood, and the other was see-through and matched the scarf around her waist.
"Which one?" she asked, smiling at them.
For a moment, nobody answered.
"The solid one," Harry suggested. She tossed the polka-dotted one aside and slipped on the solid one with a knee-weakening smile directed at Harry.
Snape glared at Harry as they walked outside, but Harry didn't care. Silver walked next to him as they all gathered at the curb. Lupin pulled out his wand and raised it in the air, and a few seconds later they were all boarding the Knight Bus. Slippery-looking seats ran along the interior of the first floor, and seeing as it was empty, this was where they all sat.
"'Ey, Ern, it's Neville!" Stan cried, pointing at Harry.
Silver giggled. "Neville?" she asked from beside him.
"Long story," he replied. She giggled again. Stan looked at her with interest.
"What's yer name?" he asked in what he thought was a winning tone, swaggering over to her and winking a bit too obviously.
To Harry's delight, Silver scooted closer to him and took his arm, looking at Stan with a mixture of disgust and fright. Harry glared at Stan and successfully succeeded in getting him to walk off ("Not too friendly, are yer?"). Silver didn't let go of Harry's arm, and Harry had a stupid grin on his face as the bus started. It took off with its signature jolt, causing Fred and George to topple out of their seats and Moody to dig his wooden leg hard into the ground so that he wouldn't lose his balance. Another, more appreciative effect was the one it had on Silver. She scooted closer to Harry – although whether she scooted of her own accord or not was a mystery – and put her other hand on his arm.
"Is it supposed to do that?" she asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Harry replied casually, "That's the worst part though, except maybe for the turns."
As he finished his statement, the bus turned down a side street more sharply than usual. Tonks landed in a very embarrassed Lupin's lap, and Silver, to Harry's disappointment, only almost made it into his. Snape nearly went flying off the edge of the seat, but managed to catch himself in time, shooting an evil look at Harry, who was grinning as Silver clutched his arm.
"This is horrible," Silver groaned.
Harry couldn't help but laugh.
"It's not funny," she insisted, but she laughed, too.
Suddenly the bus jerked to a stop. Harry, who knew the after-effects of this, stayed seated effectively, but Silver would've flown forward and out of her seat if he hadn't caught her. Once he did, she scooted back into his arms, leaving one arm around her waist as she did so. Harry was so happy he was dizzy – although it may have been the effect the bus was having on him. Snape, on the other hand, looked as if he were going to chuck Harry out the window the first chance he got.
When they finally arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry was very disappointed to relinquish his hold on her, but did so out of fear of Snape. Lupin was grinning slyly at Harry as they stepped off the bus, and Moody patted him on the back forcefully, saying, "That's my boy!" in a rather loud voice.
Dumbledore turned to them all. "We shall have to split up, or it will look a bit suspicious," he informed them.
"Molly and Arthur, you shall take your children and Miss Granger with you," he directed.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded and began to gather up their children.
"Severus and Minerva, you will each travel individually and pick up the items I have asked of you as well as those you need."
Snape looked from Silver to Harry to Dumbledore as if to protest, but Dumbledore continued talking immediately.
"Tonks, Moody, you will travel together and keep an eye on everybody – Severus, you will not speak while I am speaking."
Tonks and Moody nodded and Snape looked abashed. Harry tried to keep a straight face.
"Remus, you will accompany Harry, Silver, and I to various stores of their choice."
Harry was surprised. It was a privilege to travel with Dumbledore throughout Diagon Alley. He was also elated that he and Silver were together.
"Everyone whom I failed to mention, you are free to do whatever you wish, and I request that you keep an eye on the other members as you do so. Everybody please meet up here at five o' clock sharp."
With that, everyone assorted and began to pass through the Leaky Cauldron. Dumbledore, Lupin, Harry, and Silver stayed until last. Silver was bouncing on her tiptoes in excitement. She practically dragged them through the Leaky Cauldron, not even giving Dumbledore a chance to say hello to anyone, and once they entered Diagon Alley she was awestruck.
"To Gringotts, then," Dumbledore said, "Silver, I will not permit you to take any money out of your family account, because your mother may be able to track you then."
Silver's face fell. "But – I don't have any money now," she said.
"Well, Severus has kindly offered you unlimited use of his vault, however, I have decided that you will extract a certain amount from both mine and Severus' vault."
Silver still looked downcast. "But –"she protested.
"No, Silver," Dumbledore replied, his voice gentle but firm.
Harry wondered what Dumbledore's vault looked like. They walked into Gringotts, and Silver, although still stubbornly wanting to use her own vault, was amazed.
"Harry!" she exclaimed, taking a hold of his arm, "Look at those emeralds!"
Harry turned to see some goblins weighing a huge pile of emeralds on a scale.
"They're nice," he commented.
"Nice?" she echoed, "Harry, they're gorgeous. I suppose you would be used to them, though, they're the exact same color as your eyes."
Harry blushed profusely. Had she just called his eyes gorgeous?
Lupin and Dumbledore were smiling mysteriously as they got into their cart. Silver and Harry scrambled in after them, and Silver situated herself between Lupin and Harry.
"First stop, the Potter vault," the goblin announced. Their cart took off, although to Harry's disappointment, Silver didn't seem quite as scared as she had on the Knight Bus. The cart stopped in front of Harry's vault and he clambered out to fill his bag. He felt a bit self-conscious, aware that everyone was watching him, as he quickly scooped piles of money into his bag. When he got back in the cart, Dumbledore was staring at him interestedly, but said nothing.
"Next stop, vault six hundred and twenty-three, Lupin!" the goblin announced. Harry had no recollection of goblins ever using names to identify vaults before, but said nothing. They traveled only a bit further until they reached Lupin's vault. Harry hesitantly glanced behind him to see Lupin carefully selecting only a few gold Galleons from a medium-sized pile, and then halfway filling up his bag with silver Sickles and bronze Knuts.
"Next stop, Snape," the goblin said boredly as they plunged into darkness once more after Lupin climbed in.
"Silver," Dumbledore said as they stopped, "You are the one who had permission to extract the money, not I, so you must go and extract exactly fifty each of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts." Silver's eyes widened. "But that's much too much!" she protested. "Silver," Dumbledore said in a no- nonsense tone. Silver hesitantly walked up to the door to Snape's vault, and the goblin unlocked it with a swish of his finger. Harry gaped. It was a treasure trove. Emeralds, Rubies, and precious gems of all kinds lined the walls of Snape's vault. Silver carefully collected some money and turned to go back. "Silver," Dumbledore sighed, "Since when is twenty Galleons equal to fifty?" Silver frowned and collected the rest of the Galleons. She climbed back in still scowling. Harry thought she looked cute anyways.
"Dumbledore," the goblin said as the cart took off even further downwards.
"I really don't need any more money," Silver told Dumbledore. Harry had to agree with her. He was certain he hadn't even taken that much money from his own vault.
"Well, you'll be getting some anyhow," Dumbledore replied.
"It'll be too heavy," she protested.
Dumbledore raised his eyebrows at her. "I'll carry it for you, and give it to you when we get home. You need some money to spend at Hogwarts, especially if you plan on going to Hogsmeade."
"Oh," Silver said quietly. Then she looked up, "But I'm not going to Hogsmeade, sir, my parents didn't sign the slip."
"Fudge has agreed that between Severus and I, we can override that," Dumbledore replied, smiling at her.
Silver smiled slightly in return, but looked lost in thought about something. Harry realized that they had been in the cart a relatively long time compared to the time it took them to get to the other vaults. Just as he was about to say something, the cart stopped. Dumbledore rose and got out. Harry twisted in his seat with curiosity. If Snape's vault had been so great, Dumbledore's must be much better! The goblin stroked the door with his finger, but it didn't stay away. Dumbledore nodded to the goblin and stepped through it. Harry sank into his seat with disappointment. Lupin chuckled.
"You didn't want to see Dumbledore's vault, now did you, Harry?" Lupin teased.
Harry found himself grinning despite his disappointment. "Not really," he replied sarcastically.
Soon enough, Dumbledore stepped back out and bowed formally to the goblin. "Thank you," he said in a deep voice. The goblin looked surprised, but bowed back and replied, "Your welcome."
Silver nearly ran through the lobby to get outside. "Ooh, what first?" she asked.
"Robes," Dumbledore said decidedly, "I need some new robes myself, and we're right here as it is."
The four walked into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and watched Silver be measured. The measuring tape did its job quickly and then proceeded to winding itself around her waist and squeezing.
Madam Malkin quickly unwound it and apologized.
"Now, what color would you like your dress robes to be?" she asked, giving Silver a color chart.
Silver looked down interestedly. Harry walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder along with Lupin and Dumbledore.
"How about Silver?" Harry suggested with a note of teasing in his voice.
Silver giggled and searched for the silver patch. "Ooh, it is pretty," she said, "Yes, I think I'll take silver." They then helped Dumbledore pick out some new purple robes, and left.
"Well, what else is on your list?" Dumbledore asked.
Silver wasn't paying attention however, she was staring at the Magical Menagerie as if in a trance.
"An owl," she whispered, "Can I get an owl?"
"Certainly," Dumbledore replied, "To the Magical Menagerie."
"They're all so lonely," Silver said as they neared. Harry remembered that she had the ability to talk with animals.
"Where's Hedwig?" he wondered aloud.
"When she came to the school for your letter I informed her that she wasn't needed," Dumbledore replied, "She was most offended and flew off to the Owlry. I dare say she'll be back as soon as she gets over it."
Harry grinned at the thought of his owl and her ego.
"Where's Silver?" Lupin asked suddenly.
They had entered the Magical Menagerie and she had disappeared. They exchanged worried glances and split up to find her. Harry spotted her at the end of the last aisle crouching down by a black screech owl.
"Found her!" he called.
Lupin and Dumbledore appeared almost immediately, and the three of them drew closer to watch her converse with the owl.
"Poor baby," she said softly, reaching her finger in to pet it's head. The owl hooted quietly and closed it's eyes at her touch.
"I want this one," she said decidedly.
"Are you sure?" Lupin asked, "You haven't' seen them all yet."
"I heard this one's voice from the moment I stepped in the store," she replied, "I think it's a sign."
"Alright then," Lupin replied, "I'll go get the shop owner."
Harry crouched down beside her. "What's it's name?" he asked, looking down at the peaceful owl.
"He doesn't have one yet," she replied, "He was taken from his mother just after he was born, and brought here. He's not fully grown yet, but he's got his adult feathers and I think he's ready to carry letters and the like."
Harry surveyed the owl carefully. It was a bit on the small side, but it definitely looked mature enough to carry letters back and forth. It opened it's eyes and peered up at him. It had big, golden eyes.
"Aren't his eyes beautiful?" she sighed.
"Sure," Harry agreed.
The owl looked up at Silver and hooted. "Of course," Silver replied. Harry wondered how the owl could have asked a question in just one hoot, but didn't say anything.
The shop owner and Lupin appeared beside them.
"Ah, you've taken an interest in this little guy," the lady said, grinning, "He's quite young but definitely suitable to carry mail. He can be a bit violent though, I'm just warning you."
The owl hooted indignantly, and Silver looked up at the shopkeeper a bit reproachfully.
"He says he's only violent because you handle him so harshly," she informed the lady, "Baby owls are very delicate, and should be treated with gentleness."
Surprise registered in the lady's eyes. "One owl is the same as the next," she replied sharply, "Would you like the cage he's in right now?"
Harry thought the cage he was in was a bit small, even for a young owl, and was glad when Silver replied, "No thank you, I'd like that one, over there." She pointed to a shiny metal cage that looked both bigger and more comfortable than the one the owl was in at the moment. "But we're still shopping right now, so could you please hold it for me, and I'll come back and get it later?"
The owner looked at Silver like she was asking rather a lot, but agreed as long as Silver paid then.
As they left the shop, Lupin commented, "Seven galleons was a lot to ask for that little thing."
The owl glared at him haughtily from Silver's shoulder, and Silver laughed. "He's still growing," she said defensively. The owl rubbed up against her cheek in agreement.
"I think I'm going to name him Esperanza," she announced. The owl hooted in excitement.
Lupin snorted. "Don't you think that's a little, erm...girly?" he asked. Harry couldn't help but agree with him, and Dumbledore had a sly smile on his face as well.
Silver frowned. "No it's not," she argued, "Its exotic. Right, Harry?"
Harry quickly hid his smile. "Yup, exotic. My point exactly," he agreed. Lupin smirked at him and Dumbledore's mouth twitched suspiciously.
"Do you like it?" she asked the owl. It hooted its approval.
"Right then. Esperanza," she said.
The rest of their shopping passed uneventfully, except for the event of getting Silver a wand.
("But I already have a wand! Well, okay, so it's been in my family for three generations, maybe I should get a new one...")
They had to wait for forty-five minutes until a very excited Mr. Ollivander presented her with a fourteen-inch unicorn hair and phoenix feather wand.
"Yes, very unusual combination indeed," he chatted excitedly as they paid.
"I'm starved," Lupin announced after he finished teasing Silver about being too stubborn for any wand to agree with her.
"Me too," Silver echoed.
"I'm surprised you two have agreed," Dumbledore replied.
Esperanza hooted impatiently and nipped at Silver's ear for the third time in a row, making her wince. "Ouch, that's sensitive!" she exclaimed to the owl.
"I think he's a bit hungry," Harry remarked innocently. She scowled at him as she rubbed her ear, and Harry and Lupin dissolved into laughter. Dumbledore gave a quiet chuckle.
"Well, now, here's our stop then," he announced.
Harry was too hungry to even see where they were. They went inside and feasted on chicken and mashed potatoes. Esperanza ate the tiny pieces Silver broke off for him, and had a go at some mashed potatoes, but ended up getting it more on his face than in his mouth. As Harry, Lupin, and Dumbledore laughed openly, Silver wiped the owl's face, telling him firmly, "Just ignore them."
Finally, at half-past four, they were done.
"Oh!" Silver said suddenly, "We forgot Esperanza's cage!"
"Esperanza," Lupin muttered under his breath, "What a mouthful."
Harry smothered back a laugh as Silver and Esperanza shot them a dirty look. After getting Esperanza's cage, although Silver refused to put him in it, they arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron at a quarter til'. Snape and Professor McGonagall were already there.
"Isn't he adorable?" Silver gushed to Snape as he eyed her new owl with dislike.
"Completely," Snape replied in a non-convincing voice.
Silver either didn't notice or didn't mind, however, as she proceeded to show him her new wand.
"Core?" Snape asked as he fingered it.
"Phoenix feather and unicorn hair," she replied proudly.
Snape and Professor McGonagall both raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit uncommon," Snape commented, looking at the wand with new suspicion.
"Yes, it is," Lupin agreed, "Which might be why it took us forty-five minutes to find."
Snape smirked but said nothing as he handed Silver her wand back. Harry got the feeling that thinking of Lupin bored out of his mind gave Snape satisfaction. Not that it had been completely boring to see Silver accidentally blow things up whenever he put any wand containing dragon heartstrings in her hand, however.
At five o' clock, none of the others had shown up yet, however, at a quarter past the Weasleys and Hermione arrived, breathless, complaining about long lines at the book store. A few minutes after that the rest showed up, voicing the same complaints.
Dumbledore graciously forgave them for their tardiness and raised his wand. The Knight Bus appeared in a flash. Harry was very put out to have Silver sit in between himself and Snape, but when the bus took off Silver latched securely to his arm. He was sure she wouldn't have minded if he put his arm around her, but he didn't dare chance it with Snape there.
That night, after everybody finished showing off what they had gotten and Hermione had successfully read and re-read her new Transfiguration book, they tiredly trudged up the stairs. Harry, Ron, and Silver said good night to Ginny and Hermione and continued down the hallway. Silver stopped outside the door to their room, which made both of them stop as well. Ron, however, looked from Silver to Harry and retreated inside, swinging the door almost shut behind himself. Esperanza fluttered off of Silver's shoulder to the railing and stared downstairs intently.
Silver looked at Harry a bit shyly, but also with warmth. She seemed to be waiting for him to say something.
"I had a really good time with you today," he offered.
She beamed at him. "Me too," she said.
For a moment Harry debated kissing her, but he decided against it in the end because he realized, upon looking into her eyes, that she trusted him a good deal more than she had previously, and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that.
"Good night," he said.
"Night, Harry," she replied sweetly.
He walked into his room still picturing the smile she had given him and the way she had said his name. He had a feeling he wouldn't forget a single detail of the day he had just been through for a long while.