A/N – okay, official disclaimer. I own none of this, JKR does, and everything I write is for amusement only!
This is just a shorty chapter. I promise, the next one is longer. Maura gets to meet Molly!
Review please! (I love reviews!)
CQ
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Chapter Six: People and Places
The Leaky Cauldron was a pub. Not really much of a pub, but a pub nonetheless. Maura had been in several just like it in past, in muggle London.
There were many people in it. There was loud music and lager on tap, and pretty girls with bare midriffs serving the many customers. It opened onto a busy street near Charing Cross, and Harry and Maura went completely unnoticed as they entered.
Harry raised his hand in greeting to the bartender as they passed.
"Hey, Harry! How are you, lad?"
"Great Sid, and you?"
"Not complaining, Harry, not complaining!" The cheerful man smiled and, nodding again, turned his attention to another customer.
"What happened to Tom?" Maura asked in an undertone.
"Tom?"
"The barkeep at the Leaky Cauldron in the books?"
"Ah, Tom," he grinned.
Maura looked up into his dancing eyes and groaned. "Another one?"
"Afraid so. Sid and his brother Stan have owned the Leaky Cauldron and this muggle bar for as long as I can remember." He led her to a door that had a small sign hanging on it that said 'Private' and, laying his hand against it, pushed.
And they were in a different pub. This one looked older, but was spotlessly clean. There was a huge fireplace at one end, and as Maura watched, a wizard appeared in it with a flash of green light.
"So, how does this work, then?" Maura asked, a little in awe.
"Sid and Stan own the Leaky Cauldron. They're brothers. Sid runs the muggle bar, and Stan runs the wizard bar."
"But how do they keep the muggles out of this side of it?"
"The few who can actually see the door wouldn't be able to get through. If they tried to open it, it would appear locked. If they did get through, there is an illusion charm that makes them think they've walked into a broom closet."
"Ah."
"And this end," Harry said as they walked through to a bright entrance, "opens onto Diagon Alley."
They stepped out onto a busy street, with many people about. But strangely, no vehicles. Not even a bicycle. It reminded Maura of the area called The Shambles in the city of York, all pedestrian walkways and very, very old shops on cobbled streets.
People milled about, dressed in everything from muggle jeans and jackets to long flowing Gothically-styled robes. Maura saw one woman she would have sworn was Galadriel from the movie version of Lord of the Rings.
"Harry?" She edged closer to him, a bit uncomfortable in these surroundings.
"It's okay, Maura. Really, you're safe."
"I know. It's just..."
"I know. It can be a bit intimidating if you're not used to it."
"How do you keep all this hidden?"
"Well, there are a lot of spells to keep it form view. That, and most muggles see only what they want to see, anyhow."
"Have there ever been any unexpected guests?"
"You mean, a muggle wandering in accidentally?"
"Yes."
"Not that I know of," he grinned. "But I suppose it's possible. The biggest risk for keeping it secret is those muggles who need to know of it's existence so they can access it for their children who have been selected to go to Hogwarts. Very strong charms are put on the families of muggleborns. They quite literally cannot talk about it. Even if they try, they forget all about what they were about to say for a few minutes, and by that time, the subject has normally changed."
"So what about..."
"I'm not really an authority on security like what they have here. Bill Weasley would be able to tell you, but of course, then he'd have to obliviate you."
Maura turned stunned eyes on him, to find him laughing.
"A joke, Maura, just a joke." He smiled, putting his arm around her shoulder and guiding her forward. "Relax, and let me show you around Diagon Alley."
He took her up one side of the street and down the other. They visited Gringotts which, to Maura's eye, looked like any bank in the muggle world, except you could tell from the marble floors and highly polished wood wickets that it had been there a very long time. The bank tellers, however, were human, not goblins, and Harry laughed when she asked about exchange rates.
"I don't know, and I really don't care. I pay my bills in English pounds stirling, just like everyone else."
"But you have your own currency?"
"Yes, but it's seldom used anymore. You can use English currency anywhere in the wizarding world."
"So, no galleons, sickles or knuts?"
"Oh, they exist, and they can be used in wizard shops. Most people prefer to use muggle money, though. That way, they don't need to remember what to use where."
"So, there aren't any vaults, either?" Maura was mildly disappointed. She'd hoped to talk Harry into taking her for a ride down to the vaults.
"I would imagine they have vaults here, but I doubt you get to them via a roller coaster. I've certainly never seen them. I have been in the safety deposit vaults, but they're just one floor down, and you can take the elevator."
Maura smiled at his teasing, but still felt mildly disappointed.
Next, they visited Flourish and Blotts, a bookstore that looked very much like a Barnes and Noble, only the titles of the books were a bit curious. They had an entire section cordoned off from the rest, dedicated to books required by Hogwarts students.
Maura walked along the shelves and smiled as she saw Hogwarts: A History. Removing it, she felt a catch in her throat. She really was here. It was all real.
She turned to see Harry watching her closely. He glanced at the book in her arms and smiled. "Found something?"
"I can't believe that this is all real, Harry. I keep thinking it's a dream, or a delusion, and I'm going to wake up..." Her eyes met his. "And I'll never be able to get back again."
Harry stepped closer, pulling her into his arms and hugging her close.
"It's not a dream, or a delusion. It is real, and if you ever can't find your way back again, we'll find you, and bring you back. So long as you want to come."
Maura smiled up at him, "Why on earth wouldn't I want to come back? I feel... Harry I feel like I'm home, like I've finally found the place that I belong, the place I've been looking for for years."
Harry broke eye contact with her, and hugged her again, hard.
She ended up buying the book, and followed a largely silent Harry from the shop. He led her to a small shop on the corner with some colorful robes hanging in the window.
"Gladrags," Maura read the sign hanging over the door. "Do you know how much I wish I had a camera right now?"
"Ginny and Hermione used to spend a lot of time, and money, in here."
She heard the wistful tone of his voice, and turned and looked at him, a sudden thought making her gasp.
"You loved her."
"Who?" Harry looked uncomfortable.
"Hermione. You loved her."
Harry sighed. "I never knew about love, Maura, before I came to this world. Ron and Hermione were my first experience with that. Ron was, and is, my best mate. We were, and are, completely loyal to each other. Hermione taught me about affection. Without her, I would never have understood that feeling something and showing it were two different things, but that both are okay."
"Yes," he confirmed. "I loved her. Very much. Just not the way you mean."
He took a deep breath and then pasted a smile on his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Let's get you some robes, shall we?"
"You're going to help?" she teased, knowing that to pursue the previous conversation would push him too far.
"I'll have you know..." he started, faking a huffy attitude.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...get going, Potter."
The moment they entered the shop, Maura realized that bringing him along might have been a bad idea. Perhaps she should have asked Ginny to bring her.
It was very obvious that he was easily recognized, and still had a certain standing as the defeater of the Dark Lord. The staff in the robe shop were almost prostrating themselves at his feet. In the process, Maura managed to be shown several robes, of which she chose two.
"What's wrong with the others?" Harry asked.
"Nothing. But these are the two I like best."
"You didn't like the others?"
"Very much," she glanced at the pile of discards. "Well, all except the pink. I hate pink."
"Then why are you only getting these two?"
She looked up at him, then at the very interested saleswitch.
"Harry, I only have so much money with me, and I doubt that they take VISA."
"I don't understand why that should be an issue."
"Harry," she lowered her voice. "I don't have unlimited funds. I can only afford to buy these two right now."
Harry looked closely at her for a moment. "Maura, I certainly hope that you didn't believe I would expect you to pay for these?"
Maura's cheeks were as pink as the rejected robes. "Harry...."
"I fully intend to see you properly kitted out. I told you that. And as you wouldn't be in this situation had I not involved you, any purchases that are required will be paid for by me. Understand?"
"Harry..."
"Enough." He turned to the saleswitch. "All of them, except the pink. Charge it all to my Gringotts account."
"Of course, Mr Potter," the saleswitch smiled.
"Harry, you can't be buying me clothes!" Maura began, only to have him look at her in a way which told her exactly what he thought of that.
"Oh, I assure you, I can. And have."
"Harry..."
"Not now, M..." he was very angry. "Just not now, okay?"
Angrier, she thought, than he'd probably been in a very long time. She wisely stayed silent for their return to the house.
