Disclaimer: I don't own anything having to do with Harry Potter, except a little figurine of Harry on a broom stick and two Harry Potter video games.*smirks* Enjoy!
*Chapter 4: The Daring Duel in Diagon Alley*
The shock and euphoria last until well after dinner and into the night for Harry and Hermione. They were to be Prefects in their upcoming year. How Harry had become one was completely oblivious to himself, seeing as he had broken many school rules in his last four years at Hogwarts. After discovering the badges, they had proceeded downstairs a few hours later to eat Mrs. Granger's wonderfully cooked dinner. She had also baked a cake just for Harry's fifteenth birthday, a very nice surprise since it was extremely delicious.
After eating and washing the dishes from dinner, Harry accompanied the Grangers in their family room as they settled themselves down to watch the evening news. As Mr. Granger commanded the remote and was able to change it to whatever he wanted to watch, Harry and Hermione began to study the new book that he had gotten. Powerful Curses, Hexes, and Spells. Hermione practically gave Harry a heart attack when she squealed with delight as she read over a spell that she couldn't wait to try. "A spell that sends powerful force waves of sound that knocks away anything in its way? That sounds very interesting," Harry whispered gently.
It is called the Aeroblaster, or in incantation form, aerioblastera," Hermione explained slowly.
"Latin origin?" Harry asked quickly.
"No, it is not Latin. I don't really know what language it is," Hermione replied as she began to read more. Harry could really tell that Hermione was anxious to try out the spell. Even he himself wanted to try it out as well. Harry slowly let go of the book as Hermione pulled it into her lap, quickly turning to the index at the back of the book. "I wonder if there is a powerful burning spell," she whispered again. Harry's eyes bulged lightly as Hermione's attitude and ambition towards the old tree up by the lake surprised him. To Hermione's amazement, Harry quickly got up and left the room, coming back moments later with a thick book in his arms. As he sat back down, Hermione recognized it as the potion's book that they use during Snape's class. "What did you get that for?" Hermione asked.
Hermione watched intently as Harry searched through the book before stopping on a page. "Since we can't use our wands outside of school to do magic, maybe we can make a potion," Harry explained slowly. After listening to him speak, Hermione looked at the page that he had turned to.
"Oh, I get it now. We can't conjure blue bell flames to store in a bottle, so maybe we can try to make them out of this complicated potion," Hermione said, catching Harry's eyes. The look on his face affirmed the idea. "There are some items on the list to use to make the potion. When we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow, we will pick the ingredients up with our new books," Hermione said with a small yawn.
Shortly after discussing their trip, Harry and Hermione both went up to bed, saying goodnight before disappearing into their separate dark bedrooms. In sleep, it felt like it had been an eternity before they both woke up the next morning. Hermione's parents had already left for work when Harry and Hermione made their way to the kitchen after a small tickle fight in the upstairs hallway where Hermione almost gained the upper hand.
"They arranged a taxi car to pick us up to take us to London, near the Muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. They already paid for it too. It will be here at 10 o'clock," Hermione read off of a small note her parents had left them on the refrigerator. Harry's eyes instantly traveled to the clock above the doorway. The time read 9:15 a.m.
Panic had suddenly struck them both. "We have to be ready in 45 minutes!" Hermione cried as she made a mad dash for the stairwell. Harry laughed as he followed her. Within moments, Hermione had grabbed a few towels and locked herself in the bathroom. Harry could hear the shower turn on just seconds later. As Hermione showered, Harry curiously went into Hermione's bedroom. The walls were painted a light blue color, just like the guestroom. It also matched the carpet in her room.
Harry then studied Hermione's bookshelf. He wasn't quite surprised to find three bookshelves instead of just one. Harry almost laughed. "Typical Hermione," he said gently to himself. Just as he slowly exited her room after spending nearly ten minutes in there, he heard the water of the shower turn off, so he quickly crossed over to his room. He then proceeded to his large trunk.
He carefully selected his clothes and robe before heading towards the bathroom. Hermione had already gone to her room; the door to her room was shut. Not wanting to bother her, since she was probably changing, Harry proceeded into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. His right hand quickly secured the door by locking it. After stripping his clothes off, Harry stepped into the shower, pulling the curtain shut. He savored the feel of the hot water on his skin as he washed his body with a bar of soap that had its own little area to be set on.
When Harry was ready to wash his hair, he paused as he looked at the various shampoo bottles in the shower holder that was off to the side in the large shower. He carefully selected a small bottle that contained a yellow shampoo liquid. After pouring some into his hand, Harry worked it into a lather before massaging his scalp with it. As the shampoo lather washed off of his head once putting his head under the stream of water, Harry smiled as he smelled the sweet scent of the shampoo. It smelled really good and it definitely appealed to his senses. Making sure that he was done washing his hair and body, Harry quickly turned the shower off, reaching his other hand outside of the curtain to grab his towel. After quickly drying off, Harry carefully wrapped the towel around his waist. He then stepped out of the shower and picked up his dirty laundry.
Harry continued on into the hallway after he had unlocked the bathroom door. Seeing a laundry basket in sight, Harry dropped the clothes that needed to be washed into it, still looking down as he continued to walk forward. Before he could walk a foot farther, Harry ran into something, or someone.
"Harry, I am so sorry. I didn't see you there," Hermione said, her eyes trying not to look at him. Harry could see her face blush a light crimson color, obviously since she was seeing him now, and he was only wearing a towel around his waist. He could even feel his own face turn red as his cheeks began to feel warm.
"It's alright, Hermione. I didn't see you. It is my fault," Harry spoke softly. He then stepped to the side, allowing Hermione to pass. As Harry proceeded into his room, Hermione quickly walked down the stairs. It felt like her face was on fire, and her heartbeat had picked up pace. She didn't know he was out of the bathroom, but it became quite obvious once she ran into him in the hallway, with only a towel around his waist. Hermione quickly glanced into the downstairs hallway mirror. Her face was definitely red. Desperately trying to stop blushing, Hermione carefully sat down in a chair in the kitchen, which was connected to the hallway. Thinking about what she just saw made Hermione's face warmer as the blood in her body gathered around her cheeks.
Luckily, Hermione's attention was finally able to stop thinking about Harry when a small barn owl came flying across the front lawn of her house. Getting up quickly from the chair, Hermione opened up the large kitchen window just in time fore the brown, tattered owl to soar in and land on the wooden table. After dropping a small magazine down and collecting some knuts from Hermione, the owl took flight and left the house, flying back out the open kitchen window. Hermione's weekly copy of the Daily Prophet had finally arrived.
A gasp escaped Hermione as she picked the magazine up and looked at the cover. The dominant picture revealed a large skull floating in the sky, green light and mist illuminating around it. "The Dark Mark," Hermione managed to say. As the words escaped her mouth, a bad feeling began to build up in Hermione. The Dark Mark was hovering over what looked to be a civilian park. Or, a muggle park, to those who hated non-magic folk. Just seeing the Dark Mark made Hermione not want to read on, but her curiosity got the best of her and she reluctantly turned the page to read the main article. The title was slightly animated as it flashed black and red.
Five Muggles Killed in Civilian Park!
Utter fright and hysteria struck a muggle community earlier this week when five muggles, two children and three adults, were found dead. The cause of death is still unknown to the muggles, but investigators from the Ministry of Magic have concluded that the Forbidden curse, the Killing Curse, was used upon the unfortunate muggles. Members of the Ministry of Magic continue to investigate as to who caused the death of the five muggles. Although Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, refuses to believe that this attack was made by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, Albus Dumbledore confirms that he believes it to be and attack by the Dark Lord, who as everyone knows was defeated by young Harry Potter almost 14 years ago. Details are still sketchy on how He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came back to power, but the Ministry of Magic believes he is back alive and they are ready to fight back. As for the Minister of Magic, his naivete shows wizarding folk that he still believes that the Dark Lord is not alive, when everyone else believes that the Dark Lord is alive. The evidence that shows this is the increasing deaths of muggles and weak wizards. More details are still unknown.
Hermione finally inhaled oxygen into her body. The article had practically taken her breath away. It was so horrible that five people were killed. Hearing Harry's footsteps on the stairs, Hermione quickly stuffed the Daily Prophet into a small cabinet where other magazines were stored, not wanting him to see the article. Hermione looked up at him as he entered the kitchen. Her chin was inclined a little since he was taller. Harry wore a pair of light blue jeans, a red and gold shirt, and his black cloak hung by his shoulders, a small string in front going across the next. Hermione smiled as he commented her on how nice she looked in her plain black skirt, a red and gold sweater identical to his shirt, and her black cloak on the same way as his.
"What was that paper shuffling sound?" Harry asked.
"It was nothing," Hermione immediately replied. Harry would have kept on asking until she told had it not been for the taxi car that had pulled up in front of the house, its horn giving off two short, loud blows. "That's the taxi. We have to go now," Hermione said gently as she pulled Harry to the door with her.
"Do you have everything we need? How about or school booklists?" Harry asked quickly as Hermione opened the door.
"Yes, Harry. I promise I have everything. We will get our money at Gringotts when we get to Diagon Alley. Trust me," she replied back with a dashing smile.
After closing and locking the front door to the two story brick house, Harry and Hermione quickly proceeded to the taxicab where they quickly slid in and told the driver where to take them. Off to London the taxi cab driver drove to, and within an hour and a half, Harry and Hermione stood before the muggle entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. "Here we go," Harry said with a laugh as he turned the doorknob in his hand, opened the old wooden door, and ushered Hermione quickly into the tavern.
As usual, the main room in the Leaky Cauldron was slightly dark, with lamps scattered around the room to cast dim light. The area near the bar was lit more than the rest of the room, since the person who served the drinks, food, and rented rooms needed more light to see. As the door shut loudly behind her, Hermione was quite surprised to see Harry quickly step into the shadows. She let out a gasp as Harry pulled her into the shadows after him.
"What are you doing, Harry?" Hermione asked slowly. Without answer, Harry quickly pulled Hermione along until they reached the brick wall entrance to Diagon Alley without being noticed or recognized. "Harry, please answer me," Hermione demanded. Before tapping the pattern of bricks to open the door to Diagon Alley, Harry finally turned and looked back at Hermione and opened his mouth to speak.
"I don't mind the feeling of being like so much because I'm famous and because what I unintentionally did, but," Harry began to explain before Hermione cut him off.
"But sometimes the attention you get for being famous gets old? Like last year, during the TriWizard Tournament? And during the second year, with Gilderoy Lockhart around?" Hermione asked.
Harry nodded his head. "Yes. You, Ron, Hagrid, the rest of the Weasley's, some of the teachers at Hogwarts, Sirius, and Dumbledore are the only people who look past my scar and see the real me," Harry explained slowly. Hermione smiled warmly before she stretched her arms out and gave Harry a small hug. It took him quite by surprise at first, but he gently hugged her back, inhaling the sweet smell of her hair before she pulled away.
Hermione's wand was in her hand when she pulled away. "I will get it this time," she whispered quickly before tapping the series of bricks on the wall. Slowly, the bricks began to part sides, and within seconds, the bricks had cleared away to form a doorway to walk through, which is exactly what Harry and Hermione did. They entered Diagon Alley.
Many witches and wizards were there, walking through the streets; shopping at individual shops and selling carts along the way. Harry smiled lightly. The warm feeling that he was practically home began to come back to him; he always got that feeling when he was at Hogwarts. Just minutes after entering Diagon Alley, Harry and Hermione began to meet people they knew. First, they found Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom looking in the window at the Quality Quidditch supplies store. "Harry! Hermione! It's great to see you! Guess who is in the Quidditch signing autographs!?" Neville asked excitedly, obviously suggesting something to Hermione.
"Who is it, Neville? Lockhart?" Harry asked back, which earned a loud snort from Seamus, causing Hermione to laugh. Making jokes about Gilderoy Lockhart, the "false" wizard, was always fun to do among friends.
"No Harry. It's Krum. Viktor Krum!" Seamus cried lightly.
At Seamus's statement, Hermione suddenly turned cold. "Why are you so excited? He was at Hogwarts with all of us last year for almost nine months," Hermione said, a slight angry tone in her voice.
The tone in her voice surprised Seamus greatly. He had seen Hermione angry before, but he had never heard her have such a tone in her voice in the four years he had known her. "I'm not excited, really. But he is a famous Quidditch player," Seamus explained.
"Well, Seamus, Harry is famous for defeating Voldemort when he was a baby but I don't see you asking for an autograph from him," Hermione exclaimed forcefully. Harry was about ready to calm Hermione down, but Seamus spoke before he could get a word in.
"Hermione, our friendship with Harry is worth a lot more than a stupid autograph. Plus, we see Harry practically everyday at school," Seamus casually explained.
"It better be," Hermione quickly retorted before she grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him away from the Quidditch store and down the alley towards Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Harry continued to look at her quizzically as they entered the building. He was about ready to ask her why she was acting so heatedly, but a small goblin quickly lead Harry and Hermione to a desk where another goblin could help them.
"I am Hermione Granger and I would like to take money out of my vault," Hermione said quickly as she handed the old goblin her key. Harry proceeded to give the goblin his name and key too.
" I see. Miss Granger and Mr. Potter will be taking money from their vaults," the goblin squeaked softly with a hoarse voice. After giving a bell hop type goblin the keys and the vault numbers, Harry and Hermione followed it through a large doorway and into the small open cave, which lead to the vault tunnels.
"Please do be careful when entering the cart. And do remember to fasten your safety strap. We had a casualty last week when a customer was careless and chose not to wear their safety straps or hold on for that matter. The cleanup crew is still trying to wash all of the blood off of the basement floor, which is 350 floors down," the little trolley goblin explained, causing Harry and Hermione to cringe lightly with his short tale.
As soon as Harry, Hermione, and the little trolley goblin boarded the cart, the little goblin typed in the vault numbers. Harry and Hermione barely got their safety restraints on before the cart when flying down a narrow, rocky passage. The route seemed familiar to him. 'We must be going to Hermione's vault first,' Harry thought. His thought was soon confirmed as the little goblin stopped the cart abruptly. The little goblin exited the cart first, before taking the lamp from Harry. "Key please," the goblin squeaked. Hermione gladly handed over her key, and once her vault was open, she quickly stepped inside. She was still uptight over the incident that took place in front of the Quidditch store. Like Harry, Hermione also had a lot of money stored in her vault. Saved allowances, she had told him.
To Hermione's great surprise, Harry quickly pushed past the goblin (who squeaked madly) and entered behind Hermione into her vault, firmly pulling the vault door shut behind himself. "Harry! What are you doing? You just locked us in here!" Hermione cried out.
"Don't worry, the goblin has your key," Harry replied.
"Why did you do that?"
"Why did you get upset when Neville and Seamus mentioned Krum?"
Hermione suddenly looked depressed and distant as she refused to look back at Harry. He almost thought he saw a hint of fear in her eyes, for the first time. "I don't want to talk about it, Harry. Now please, open the door," Hermione said.
"That goblin is not as strong as I am, and I can hold this door shut as long as I need to until you tell me what is wrong," Harry demanded softly, keeping a firm grip on the door handle on the inside of the vault.
Hermione sighed softly, and Harry could see a small tear caress her cheek as it slipped free from her eye. "He…he hit me," she whispered lightly. Harry almost didn't hear her because she spoke so softly.
"Why? When did he do this? How? I swear, Hermione, if he tries to hit you again, I will hurt him," Harry said as he stepped closer to her, holding her hands in his own.
"Please don't. You don't have to hurt him," Hermione whispered, her face turning red as he held her hands. "While I was in Italy this summer, he came to visit me, to get away from Durmstrang. I didn't know he was such a mean drunk. One night, he took me on a date, and he was already drunk, and he wanted more than a hug from me, if you know what I mean. I tried to stop him, and he hit me across the face. Ever since then, I have refused to see him, although he tried to apologize several times. Viktor is only here in Diagon Alley to try to see me, since he knew I would come here sometime in the last four weeks before the new term started," Hermione explained slowly, more tears sliding down her cheek.
"Did anything happen?" Harry asked.
"Of course not! He hit me and then I left."
Harry let go of her left hand as he brushed the tears away from her face with his right hand. "I won't let him hurt you again. I promise," Harry whispered. His face was extremely close to hers. Hermione closed her eyes as his face inched closer. Hermione was sure it was about to happen, until the small trolley goblin managed to open the door. "Oy! What the bloody hell are you two hormonal kids doin? Locking yourselves in. Crazy kids," the goblin squeaked. Their moment interrupted, Harry and Hermione quickly exited the vault after Hermione filled her moneybag.
After the "almost" vault incident, Harry and Hermione stayed relatively quite as Harry filled his moneybag in his vault. No words were said even after they left Gringotts and headed back down the alley. Hermione was the first who broke the silence that hung over them. "Where should we go first, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking into his eyes for the first time since they were in the vault. Harry looked back at her and smiled softly.
"We will go anywhere you want to go. However, lets not go to the Quidditch shop until after Krum leaves," Harry replied, his hand lightly brushing against hers. Although Hermione felt that the silence between them was over, she still thought that there would be a lot of awkwardness seeing as they hadn't really talked about what happened, or was going to happen, down in her vault.
"Should I even ask if you would like to go into Flourish and Blotts?" harry asked, with a small smile playing on his face.
Hermione glared lightly at Harry before smiling lightly. "You didn't have to ask," she answered. A few minutes later, Harry and Hermione arrived at the bookstore, pulling out their booklists before going inside. Both of them began to look for their new books the moment they entered. Hermione quickly helped Harry find his advanced Arithmancy book, before they continued on to each grab a copy of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Five by Miranda Goshawk.
"Advanced Numerology and Grammatica," Harry said as he read the title.
"That is the book that we will be using in Arithmancy. Looks fun, doesn't it? Maybe you should pick up a copy of the first book as well, so it will be easier to catch you up using the first book," Hermione explained. Harry nodded quickly as he picked up a copy of the first Arithmancy book, Numerology and Grammatica. After grabbing the books they needed for school, both Harry and Hermione decided to look around for any other books that they found interesting.
Hermione was slightly relieved when she was able to go look in a book section when Harry went somewhere else. Ever since Gringotts, she had been very tense and extremely nervous whenever she was near him. Every time their hands brushed, Hermione's heart beat raced. She didn't want to tell her that Viktor hit her, but he had the right to know. She only regretted not telling him how Viktor became drunk. He had become an alcoholic ever since the fourth year, when Karkaroff let him drink wine whenever he fancied it. Harry was her best friend, so he definitely had the right, thus why she had decided to tell him. That and he had had Hermione trapped in the vault.
After picking up a small book on medical type spells, Hermione crossed over to the railing on the second floor where she was at and looked down at the many customers on the first floor. She could see Harry walking in between bookshelves, looking at different types of books on magic, potions, and Transfiguration. Looking at him made her begin to think about the vault, and that thought brought up many questions in her mind, as well as the blood to rush to her face. 'Was he going to kiss me? Did he want to? Why are these strong, emotional feelings rising in me? Does Harry have the same feelings?' Hermione thought. She was beginning to get confused, and Hermione never got confused.
Quickly pushing her thoughts away, Hermione walked back down to the first floor by using the wooden stairs. She casually caught Harry's eyes as he came out of an aisle near the stairs. "Are you ready to pay for our books?" Harry asked. Hermione smiled as she nodded her head. Slowly working through the crowd, Harry and Hermione came to the counter, where they paid for their big stacks of books and then left Flourish and Blotts.
Next, they proceeded on to the Magical Menagerie. There, harry wanted to buy more owl treats for Hedwig while Hermione watched a strange red lizard that could burst into flames at will, and yet it could easily extinguish the flames. Luckily the red lizard was kept in a fir-proof cage, since it made Hermione jump back as it started to shoot of sparks and belch out small flames.
Although Harry wanted to go to the Quality Quidditch Supplies store, he was disappointed when Hermione held him back. Harry quickly backed off, knowing that Hermione was worried about seeing Krum. After seeing a look of pain and fear on her face, Harry quickly pulled her aside in the street. "Hermione, you do know that I'm here for you, right?" Harry asked. Hermione slowly nodded her head as she looked back at him. "Ron and I…I promise we won't let anyone hurt you," Harry said.
Hermione smiled gently and quickly hugged him, also excepting him hugging her back. After their brief hug, Harry and Hermione quickly crossed to the Apothecary so they could restock their potion ingredients. It was only after they got enough potion ingredients, including the ingredients for the Blue Bell flame potion, that they both walked over to the Quidditch shop. "I think he might be gone, Hermione," Harry said slowly. Hermione carefully looked in the window, and turned back to Harry only when she didn't see Krum in the store. "Do you want to come in with me?" Harry asked.
"I think I will just waist outside. Unless you want me to come in with you, Harry."
"It's alright. You can stay out here if you want to. If you need anything, just come and get me," Harry responded before he turned and walked into the Quidditch store. Hermione looked into the window, watching Harry look around at the Quidditch robes, the broomsticks, and the protective gear. Her calm, happy mood would have continued had she not heard the cold, drawling voice behind herself.
"Well look at that. The foul Mudblood is in love with the Boy Who Lived. How pathetic," the voice said.
Hermione didn't even have to turn around to look at the person before she knew who it was. "Go away, Malfoy," Hermione hissed lightly. She still watched Harry, but she could see Draco's reflection in the glass window.
"Already defending yourself, Granger? Than I must be right."
"I'm not in love with Harry. He's my best friend," Hermione whispered, turning to Draco. He smiled cruelly as she looked at him.
"I bet that it is just eating you up inside, isn't it Granger?"
"What are you talking about, Malfoy?"
You know what I'm talking about. The Dark Lord has risen and it is only a matter of time before you all die," Malfoy sneered.
At that moment, something snapped inside Hermione. She couldn't remember when she grabbed her wand, but it was in her hand as she pointed it straight at Malfoy, her right arm thrusting forward. "Aerioblastera!" Hermione cried.
Suddenly, green rings of sound and energy erupted from the tip of her wand. The impact upon Draco sent him reeling. He had been thrown back at least twenty feet, and he looked like a muggle bus had hit him. An old witch screamed near Hermione, causing her to not here Malfoy cast his own spell. Hermione had been distracted as the red ball of energy struck her, causing her to collapse. Malfoy's spell had suddenly paralyzed her, for she had no feeling in her legs and arms. Hermione faintly heard another spell being cast, but she felt lightheaded and her hearing and vision began to weaken. Though her eyesight was blurred, Hermione saw Malfoy being hurled back into a nearby wall by what she thought to be the Disarming spell, Expelliarmus. Her vision and hearing suddenly came back and the feeling in her arms, legs, and the rest of her body was regained. The stout witch that had screamed just moments earlier had used a spell to cure Hermione's paralysis. It was then that Hermione discovered that Harry had cast the Disarming spell.
The look upon Draco Malfoy's face was murderous as he wearily stood up. His smile sent chills down Hermione's spine. "Enjoy the time you have left, for it won't be enough. See you at school, Mudbloods," Malfoy said quickly before turning and disappearing into the once again busy street of Diagon Alley.
"Are you alright?" harry asked as he helped Hermione to her feet.
"I'm fine, Harry. It just felt so good to hit him with that spell," Hermione explained.
Harry smiled gently. "I know exactly what you mean. What did he say to you anyway?" he asked. Hermione shook her head lightly as Harry helped her to her feet.
"It was nothing." After steadying Hermione, the two gathered up all of their items that they bought and both left Diagon Alley quickly. Both Harry and Hermione agreed that they didn't want to stay there anymore. Hermione began to think of Malfoy's words as they walked back into the Leaky Cauldron and out to the streets of London.