Disclaimer: Once again, I can't even pretend to own any of this except the plot. I can only wish. Sigh...
The Street:
As Harry turned out of the door of the Owl Post building, he looked overhead to see the roc he had seen earlier taking off from the building, apparently with a cargo delivery to another city. As he watched, it seemed to change in appearance as it passed the wards surrounding The Street, until it took on the appearance of a small jet. He'd wondered how they got around muggles seeing a bird with a wingspan that huge appearing over a major metropolitan city. He walked off down the street, taking a look at the buildings surrounding him. They seemed to be much the same as he had seen in Boston. The biggest difference looked to be the size of it. Where Liberty Lane was made up of narrower streets, like Diagon Alley, The Street was a wide boulevard, with sidewalks wide enough for people to walk three or four abreast, in opposite directions. Another difference was that, due to the sheer number of businesses and the length of The Street, there was actually vehicle traffic. The wizarding public here seemed to be more accustomed to adapting muggle artifacts for their own use. He saw enchanted vehicles of all types and ages lining the streets. There were also numerous side streets wending their way off of the main avenue. One pleasant surprise that Harry found was Florean Fortescues Ice Cream Parlor. He hadn't expected to see that familiar place here. He walked into the Parlor and took a seat at the counter. While enjoying a Pumpkin Elderberry Swirl sundae, he sat and watched people as they came and went. He was now seeing even less of what he considered traditional wizarding clothing, such as robes. The patterns that adorned the clothing were no less obvious as relating to magic, though. The most memorable he saw that night appeared to be related to Quadpot, the American variant of Quidditch. The scene on one young boy's shirt showed a player on a broom soaring gracefully through the air, throwing a quaffle through the hoop on one try, and on the next, the quaffle missed, and exploded as it passed the ring. The scene intrigued Harry, as he had heard of the game, though never seen it. The young wizard resolved that, one way or another, he was going to find a way to see a game before going home.
As he left Florean's, Harry suggested that the two owls meet him outside Weasley's, and they each gave him a nip and flew off ahead of him. He strolled casually down The Street, taking in the sights, as well as enjoying the sight of the sun setting on the horizon. He looked around for a bookstore, to find some reading material for the night, along with some some mementos of the trip. Harry stopped at Magical Mystery Books, and started looking around. He found a book about Quadpot, with an abundance of pictures. It was brilliant, as well as being the perfect souvenir for Ron. He also found other books, such as a guidebook to historical magical sites around America that Hermione would love. There was one about safer, more reliable ways to enchant vehicles that Arthur would love, although Molly probably wouldn't be happy with him over that one. He found a book for Ginny about Native American healing techniques, and one for the Twins that seemed to be the biggest joke book he'd ever seen. It was the type that, when you opened to the index, tapped the catefory you wanted, closed the cover and opened it, the entire book became that category. As the contents page was about a hundred pages on it's own, he was sure that it would keep the two of them busy for some time to come. As he took his purchases to the front corner, he saw a display of disposable wizarding cameras, and added two of them the his stack. An attractive young woman rang up his purchases, flirting with him all the while. While she was pretty enough, and seemed quite nice, he couldn't seem to get his mind off of Ginny. She seemed to occupy more of his thoughts the more time went on. This was something he'd really have to figure out soon. He shrunk his purchases to fit in his pocket and strode off down The Street.
Soon enough, he saw the luridly colored, flashing sign that told him that Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes was drawing near. He whistled for the two owls he saw perched on the roof of the building, waiting as they swooped down to each take a place on one of his shoulders. He ruffled their feathers once and walked into the shop. Harry approached the counter, and asked the red-haired girl there, "Is Reggie around? My name is Harry Potter." Her eyes went wide, and she replied, "Just a moment, Mr Potter. I'll just go get him." As she walked toward the office, he tried to tell her it was 'just Harry', but she was already gone. As he waited at the counter, he took a look around, searching for any sign of Look Like Harry Potter disguise kits, and was gratified when they weren't in evidence. He saw that the place seemed to be easily three times the size of any of the other locations he had seen yet. There was even a full candy department, the size of the entire Honeyduke's store, back in Hogsmeade. He let out a low whistle, impressed at the size of the store. A moment later, he heard a voice behind him. "Mr Potter?" He turned around, putting his hand out to shake. "Reggie? Nice to meet you. I'm Harry." Reggie was pleasantly surprised at the meeting. He hadn't expected this soft-spoken and polite young man. "Nice to meet you too. Follow me, if you don't mind." Reggie led the way to the back of the store. To one side of the office, was a door with a picture of the Twins, along with a sign saying "Extremely Private. Do not enter unless you want to meet any extremely painful death." Harry laughed at this. Reggie asked "Is there some significance to the wording of the sign? They were very specific about that." Harry laughed again and said, "It's something from my first year at Hogwarts. The two of them have always delighted in reminding me of my tendency to...erm...find my way around certain rules at times." Reggie chuckled and replied, "Yes, that sounds like Gred and Forge. I guess I'll leave you to it. Let me know if you need anything." With this, he entered the office next door, closing the door quietly.
As soon he he was sure there was no one near, he took out his wand, and tapped it to the door, saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." The door opened with a click onto a full suite of rooms. Immediately to the left, Harry found a small kitchen, with a fully stocked larder. The Twins must have asked Molly about his favorite foods, and ensured that there wasn't anything he wouldn't eat. Incidentally, everything in there seemed to be calculated to make sure that he put some weight on. Molly had always thought he looked like he needed fattening up. He closed the cupboard and walked through the living room, to find out about the other rooms in the suite. As he walked through the living room, he saw that there was a huge mirror facing a large, very comfortable looking couch. He found the bathroom to the right, and the bedroom to the left. In the bedroom, he saw a four-poster bed, bigger than most king size beds. He took his trunk out of his pocket, and restored it to full size. He emptied his jacket pockets of everything but the motorbike, and also restored his purchases from earlier in the day to full size, so he could pack them away. He only kept out the Quadpot book, and the cameras. He took the book back out to the living room and passing the mirror, he tapped it with his wand, saying, "Gred and Forge." The mists in the mirror swirled for a moment, then cleared to reveal one of the Twins, happily grinning out at him.
"Hiya, Harry! Are you in New York, already? What do you think of the store?" he asked.
Harry replied, "Hi. I have to ask. Which one are you?"
"Why, Fred, of course. Harry, I'm disappointed in you, really. I thought that by now, you would have learned that I'm the good-looking one of us." This was delivered with a rueful shake of the head.
"Sorry, Fred. Should have been obvious, eh? Yes, I'm in New York, and the store is brilliant! So's the apartment, by the way. Did your mum give you instructions on what to fill the larder with? It reminds me of the one at the Burrow."
Fred laughed. "Do you even have to ask? You know what she's like when it comes to you. She's got to make sure her Harry's well fed, now. Have you tried the Wizard's Telly yet?"
"Wizard's Telly? What are you on about? There's nothing around here that looks like a TV."
"Harry, Harry. You're a bit behind, mate. When we're done talking here, just look at the mirror, and say "On". To change what you're watching, just say, "Next", and say "Back" to go to the previous program. Any messages to pass along while we're at it?"
"Just let your mum know that I got everybody's letters. The owls are still here, as I'll be writing replies in the morning. G'night Fred."
"Night, Harry." With this, Fred leaned to the mirror, and said with a grin, "Mischief managed.", and the mirror cleared.
Harry went out to the kitchen, and quickly fixed himself a few bacon sandwiches, and got a couple of Butterbeers from the fridge. Picking up the plate and the bottles, along with a bag of crisps, he went back out to the living room, and settled on the couch. He looked up at the mirror and siad, "On." He spent a few minutes flicking through the various wizarding programs, before finding a sports channel. He spent most of the evening watching a regional championship Quadpot game. He didn't know the teams, but quite enjoyed the game as well as the commentary. The announcer sounded a lot like Lee Jordan, a Gryffindor who used to announce Quidditch games in Harry's first few years at school. After the game ended, he looked at the mirror and said, "Off." As the mirror cleared, he took the plate, as well as his empties back out to the kitchen. Once everything was cleaned up for the night, he turned out the lights, and headed into the bedroom. Once he had changed, he slipped between the covers and drifted off for the night.
A/N: I'd like to thank those who have reviewed this story, so far. I really, really appreciate the feedback, as well as the positive comments. When I signed on this morning and saw how many reviews I had already, I was amazed to tell the truth. I'm glad to hear that you like it so far.
Veilius: A very good point, concerning the timing. It was something I had intended to go back and correct, but forgot about until it was up and you pointed it out. A major no-brainer moment for me.
To everybody else, I plan on updating as often as circumstances allow. During the week, I usually don't get a lot of time to write, but I definitely will be doing a lot of it on the weekends. Thanks again for the kind words, and I hope you continue to enjoy this story. I also have ideas for a few others. Not sure when I'll get to them, but I'm gonna try.